Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are commonly applied for the removal of organic pollutants from aqueous matrices. The selection of a remediation protocol depends on the nature of the contaminants. AOPs utilize the strong oxidizing power of in situ-formed hydroxyl radicals (●OH) for the decontamination of pollutants. UV/oxidant photolysis, ozonolysis, Fenton reactions, electrochemical methods, sonochemical methods, heat-activated oxidants, photocatalysis, and non-thermal plasma oxidation are some of the AOPs that have been studied. I am also interested in heterogeneous Fenton systems, particularly those using zero-valent iron-based materials. 

The sources of emerging contaminants to the environmental matrices are the wastes from the pharmaceutical industry, hospitals or households and wastewater and sewage sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plants. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are not effective in the complete removal of PhACs from the water and in some cases lead to the formation of transformation products (TPs). Since there are many contaminants present in these matrices but their concentration is really low, a proper extraction technique is required. A simple chromatography technique is also not sufficient in the identification in such complex contaminated systems. Mass spectrometry techniques provide the identity of the pollutants by providing the mass of each peak and through a perfect library searching.

Micromotors are self-driving materials that can move through complex matrices. The propulsion can be initiated by light, sound, or some fuels like H2O2. The self-electrophoresis, diffusiophoresis, and bubble ejection are the key mechanism for the movement of the material, which is resulted from the asymmetry in their structure. The propulsion is associated with the generation of reactive species or which can increase the absorptivity to remove the pollutants.

Oil pollution is one of the most dangerous situations in the marine environment. It is caused by the spillage of oil products from storages tank, pipelines, ships, etc. Oil contains many aromatic compounds that are photosensitizers and therefore they can generate many reactive species under sunlight irradiation. The major reactive species formed are singlet oxygen, OH, alkoxy and peroxide radicals. Hence the hydrocarbons can be converted into hydroxylated, keto or carboxylate products. It may cause serious effects to the aquatic environment.