“…During oxidative water treatments, dissolved organic matter (DOM) serves as not only the primary sink for the dosed oxidant , but also the primary precursor of DBPs. − Previous studies have shown that changes of DOM characteristics closely correlate with DBP formation, , and the redox-active moieties of DOM compete directly for the oxidant against MPs. − Therefore, monitoring the changes in DOM characteristics induced by oxidation is a feasible way to determine the appropriate oxidant dosage. , Currently, the surrogate indicators commonly employed to optimize the oxidant dosage include the dissolved organic carbon (DOC), UV absorbance at 254 nm (UV 254 ), and fluorescence index (FI). ,,, However, DOC cannot effectively indicate MP abatement and DBP formation due to limited organic mineralization. , In addition, although the spectroscopic surrogate indicators (UV 254 and FI) have been extensively adopted in oxidative water treatments − and correlate well with MP abatement and DBP formation in lab-scale and full-scale experiments, ,,− they just reflect the changes in the chromophoric moieties of DOM. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new surrogate indicator to enhance the precision, reliability, and robustness of existing control systems for oxidative water treatments.…”