A comprehensive review on catalysts for electrocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic degradation of antibiotics

Antibiotics in water environment have caused serious risk to human health due to their difficult biodegradability and environmental accumulation. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been demonstrated to effectively degrade antibiotics in wastewaters via the formation of reactive oxygen species with strong oxidation ability, such as hydroxyl radical. Electrocatalysis (EC) and photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) have emerged as promising AOPs. This article provides a comprehensive review on the progress in EC and PEC for degradation of antibiotics, with emphasis on the development of catalysts and their performances. The effect of experimental parameters (current density, applied potential, pH, electrolyte concentration, coexisting ions, and light source and intensity) on the degradation of antibiotics and the toxicity of intermediate, final products, and treated water are also assessed. Finally, the challenges and perspectives are discussed for EC and PEC degradation processes of antibiotics.