Photocatalytic degradation of ibuprofen using titanium oxide: insights into the mechanism and preferential attack of radicals

˙ and OOH˙) are produced in the reaction sequence and contribute strongly to the oxidation and mineralization of ibuprofen and by-products, but the hydroxyl radical has a greater oxidation capacity. The simple study using the DFT approach demonstrated that the OH˙ radical attacks preferentially in the region of the ibuprofen molecule with high electronic density, which is located close to the aromatic ring (C[double bond, length as m-dash]C bond). The presence of the OH˙ radical was confirmed through a model reaction using salicylic acid as a probe molecule.