Hydroxyl •OH radicals are molecules made of one oxygen and one hydrogen atom, with an unpaired electron, make them highly reactive and unstable.
They form naturally in the atmosphere, water, and inside cells, hydroxyl radical are often generate through reactions with UV light or adding certain chemicals in conventional wastewater treatment methods.
With a molecular weight at some 17.007 g/mol, OH radicals are very reactive, they quickly attack nearby molecules.
•OH is non-selective therefore it can react with wider range of persistent organic compounds, usually causing rapid degradation and depolymerization, breaking chemical bonds of those recalcitrant organic molecules to intemediates or smaller molecules which can be further mineralized, sometimes simply inorganic matters.
Oxidation capability of hydroxyl •OH radical make it an important component in processes like breaking down organic pollutants or initiating chemical reactions, it plays an important role in the electro oxidation wastewater treatment processes, especially in indirect oxidation or say mediated oxidation process, that is mineralizations of various organic pollutants on the anode surface, associated with other reactive oxidizing agents.
