Berberine hydrochloride (BH) is a frequently detected antibiotic in environmental waters. The objective of this study was to investigate the photodegradation of the problematic antibiotic in pure water under simulated sunlight (290–800 nm) using a photodegradation chamber. The effects of irradiation time, pH, and the presence of the matrix (nitrate, humic acid, copper, and hydrogen peroxide) were investigated in this study. The results showed that the BH degradation follows pseudo-first-order kinetics, with the degradation of BH decreasing slightly with increasing irradiation time. The rate of BH photolysis was more efficient in the near-neutral condition than in alkaline or acidic solutions and increased in the presence of nitrate and copper. Hydrogen peroxide and humic acid accelerated or inhibited degradation of BH depending on their concentration. The rapid photodegradation of BH under simulated sunlight suggested that photolytic disinfection could also be effective for degradation of the target antibiotics in water.

盐酸小ber碱（BH）是在环境水中经常检测到的抗生素。这项研究的目的是研究使用光降解室在模拟阳光下（290–800 nm）在纯水中对有问题的抗生素进行光降解的情况。在这项研究中，研究了照射时间，pH和基质（硝酸盐，腐殖酸，铜和过氧化氢）的存在的影响。结果表明，BH的降解遵循拟一级动力学，随着辐射时间的增加，BH的降解略有减少。在接近中性条件下，BH光解速率比在碱性或酸性溶液中更有效，而在硝酸盐和铜的存在下，BH光解速率增加。过氧化氢和腐殖酸根据其浓度而加速或抑制BH降解。BH在模拟阳光下的快速光降解表明，光解消毒也可以有效降解水中的目标抗生素。