Abiotic oxidation of toxic As(III) to As(V) is being deemed as a necessary step for the overall arsenic decontamination in both natural and engineered systems. Direct oxidation of As(III) by chemical oxidants, such as ozone, permanganate, ferrate, chlorine and chloramine, or naturally occurring minerals like Mn, Fe oxides, seems straightforward. Both O₂ and H₂O₂ are ineffective for arsenite oxidation, but they can be activated by reducing substances like Fe²⁺, Fe⁰ to increase the oxidation rates. Photo-induced oxidation of As(III) has been demonstrated effective in Fe complexes or minerals, NO₃^-/NO₂^-, dissolved organic matter (DOM), peroxygens and TiO₂ systems. Although a variety of oxidation methods have been developed over the past two decades, there remain many scientific and technical challenges that must be overcome before the rapid progress in basic knowledge can be translated into environmental benefits. To better understand the trends in the existing data and to identify the knowledge gaps, this review describes in detail the complicated mechanisms for As(III) oxidation by various methods and emphasizes on the conflicting data and explanation. Some prevailing concerns and challenges in the sphere of As(III) oxidation are also pointed out so as to appeal to researchers for further investigations.

在自然和工程系统中，将有毒的As（III）进行非生物氧化为As（V）被视为整个砷净化的必要步骤。用臭氧，高锰酸盐，高铁酸盐，氯和氯胺等化学氧化剂或天然存在的矿物质（如锰，铁氧化物）直接氧化As（III）似乎很简单。O ₂和H ₂ O ₂都不能有效地氧化亚砷酸盐，但是可以通过还原Fe 2 ⁺，Fe ⁰等物质来活化它们，从而提高氧化速率。作为（III）的光诱导的氧化已被证明有效的以Fe络合物或矿物质，NO ₃ ^- / NO ₂ ^-，溶解有机物（DOM），过氧和TiO ₂系统。尽管在过去的二十年中已经开发出了多种氧化方法，但是在将基础知识的迅速进步转化为环境效益之前，仍然必须克服许多科学和技术挑战。为了更好地了解现有数据的趋势并找出知识差距，本篇综述详细描述了各种方法对As（III）氧化的复杂机制，并着重说明了相互矛盾的数据和解释。还指出了As（III）氧化领域的一些普遍关注和挑战，以吸引研究人员进行进一步的研究。