Urs von Gunten is a renowned scholar at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) and a full professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). His research focuses on the application of various oxidants in the disinfection and advanced treatment of drinking water and wastewater. His work covers the degradation kinetics and reaction mechanisms of micropollutants, toxicity assessment of transformation products, characterization of oxidation processes, and the reaction kinetics and mechanisms of disinfection by-products. He has received the 2023 ACS Award for Outstanding Achievement in Environmental Science and Technology, as well as the ACS Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science and Technology, and enjoys an outstanding academic reputation and influence. As of January 23, 2026, he has published 306 academic papers, including 69 papers in Environmental Science & Technology and 108 papers in Water Research. His publications have received over 45,000 SCI citations, with an h-index of 102; according to Google Scholar, his work has been cited over 67,350 times, with an h-index of 121.
During oxidative water treatment, bromide and iodide can be oxidized to bromine and iodine as a secondary oxidant, which have high reactivities with many inorganic and organic compounds. This is important for the transformation of micropollutants and disinfection by-products (DBPs) formation during oxidative water treatment in iodide-containing waters. Bromine/iodine, which are formed during oxidative water treatment can either react with an electrophilic substitution reaction (addition) or ……
