Photodegradation of Ibuprofen Under UV–Vis Irradiation: Mechanism and Toxicity of Photolysis Products

The photodegradation of ibuprofen (IBP) in aqueous media was studied in this paper. The degradation mechanism, the reaction kinetics and toxicity of the photolysis products of IBP under UV–Vis irradiation were investigated by dissolved oxygen experiments, quenching experiments of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and toxicity evaluation utilizing Vibrio fischeri. The results demonstrated that the IBP degradation process could be fitted by the pseudo first-order kinetics model. The degradation of IBP by UV–Vis irradiation included direct photolysis and self-sensitization via ROS. The presence of dissolved oxygen inhibited the photodegradation of IBP, which indicated that direct photolysis was more rapid than the self-sensitization. The contribution rates of ·OH and 1O2 were 21.8 % and 38.6 % in self-sensitization, respectively. Ibuprofen generated a number of intermediate products that were more toxic than the base compound during photodegradation.