Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) based on peroxydisulfate (PDS) or peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation have attracted much research attention in the last decade for the degradation of recalcitrant organic contaminants. Sulfate (SO4•−) and hydroxyl (•OH) radicals are most frequently generated from catalytic PDS/PMS decomposition by thermal, base, irradiation, transition metals and carbon materials. In addition, increasingly more recent studies have reported the involvement of singlet oxygen (1O2) during PDS/PMS-based AOPs. Typically, 1O2 can be produced either along with SO4•− and •OH or discovered as the dominant reactive oxygen species (ROSs) for pollutants degradation. This paper reviews recent advances in 1O2 generation during PDS/PMS activation. First, it introduces the basic chemistry of 1O2, its oxidation properties and detection methodologies. Furthermore, it elaborates different activation strategies/techniques, including homogeneous and heterogeneous systems, and discusses the possible reaction mechanisms to give an overview of the principle of 1O2 production by activating PDS/PMS. Moreover, although 1O2 has shown promising features such as high degradation selectivity and anti-interference capability, its production pathways and mechanisms remain controversial in the present literatures. Therefore, this study identifies the research gaps and proposes future perspectives in the aspects of novel catalysts and related mechanisms.

Heavy metal poisoning has caused serious and widespread human tragedies via the food chain. To alleviate heavy metal pollution, particular attention should be paid to low accumulating vegetables and crops. In this study, the concentrations of five hazardous heavy metals (HMs), including copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) were determined from soils, vegetables, and crops near four typical mining and smelting zones. Nemerow’s synthetical pollution index (Pn), Potential ecological risk index (RI), and Geo-accumulation index (Igeo) were used to characterize the pollution degrees. The results showed that soils near mining and metal smelting zones were heavily polluted by Cu, Cd, As, and Pb. The total excessive rate followed a decreasing order of Cd (80.00%) > Cu (61.11%) > As (45.56%) > Pb (32.22%) > Cr (0.00%). Moreover, sources identification indicated that Cu, Pb, Cd, and As may originate from anthropogenic activities, while Cr may originate from parent materials. The exceeding rates of Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd, and As were 6.7%, 6.7%, 66.7%, 80.0%, and 26.7% among the vegetable and crop species, respectively. Particularly, vegetables like tomatoes, bell peppers, white radishes, and asparagus, revealed low accumulation characteristics. In addition, the hazard index (HI) for vegetables and crops of four zones was greater than 1, revealing a higher risk to the health of local children near the mine and smelter. However, the solanaceous fruit has a low-risk index (HI), indicating that it is a potentially safe vegetable type.

The aim of this study is to identify and investigate levels of toxic heavy metals in PM2.5 fractioned road dust to better understand the associated inhalation risk and potential health impacts. To achieve this aim, concentrations of seven traffic generated heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Ni, Sb, and Cr) were determined in the PM2.5 fraction of road dust samples from four different locations (offices, residential, hospital, and school) in two cities (Karachi and Shikarpur) of Pakistan using ICP-MS. The average concentration values of heavy metals in Karachi were as follows: 332.9 mg/kg Cu, 426.6 mg/kg Pb, 4254.4 mg/kg Zn, 62.3 mg/kg Cd, 389.7 mg/kg Ni, 70.4 mg/kg Sb, 148.1 mg/kg Cr, whereas the average concentration values of heavy metals in Shikarpur were 245.8 mg/kg Cu, 538.4 mg/kg Pb, 8351.0 mg/kg Zn, 57.6 mg/kg Cd, 131.7 mg/kg Ni, 314.5 mg/kg Sb, 346.6 mg/kg Cr. The pollution level was assessed through two pollution indices enrichment factor (EF) and geoaccumulation index (Igeo). These indices showed moderate to extreme level pollution in studied areas of both cities. The health risk assessment through inhalation contact was conducted according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) model for children and adults. Both non-cancerous and cancerous risks were characterised in the road dust samples for each location. As yet, there is not a single study on the concentrations of heavy metals in PM2.5 fractions of road dust in Karachi and Shikarpur, findings of this research will facilitate researchers for further investigations in current field.