Photocatalytic removal of parabens and halogenated products in wastewater: a review

Personal care products such as soaps, tooth paste and shampoo often contain pollutants such as parabens, which refer to the esters of parahydroxylbenzoic acid, and end up contaminating waters. Parabens react with halogens to produce compounds that are often more toxic and persistent. Here we review properties, toxicity, analysis and remediation of parabens and halogenated parabens, with focus on photocatalysis using titanium oxide, graphene oxide and graphitic carbon nitride.