Electrocatalytic generation of reactive species and implications in microbial inactivation

Controlling microbial proliferation in water systems, including wastewater, recreational water, and drinking water, is essential to societal health. Microbial inactivation through electrochemically generated reactive species (RS) mediated pathways provides an effective route toward this microbial control. Herein we provide an overview of recent progress toward electrocatalytic generation of RS and their application in water disinfection, with a focus on the selective production of RS, the microorganism interactions with RS (including both RS mechanisms of action and innate microorganism responses to RS), and practical implementation of electrochemically generated RS for microbial inactivation. The article is concluded with a perspective where the challenges and opportunities of RS-based electrochemical disinfection of water are highlighted, along with possible future research directions.