Impact of water quality on removal of carbamazepine in natural waters by N-doped TiO2 photo-catalytic thin film surfaces

► N-doped TiO2 thin films have been deposited by sol-gel dip-coating. ► CBZ removal improved with increasing medium pH in the range of 5-9. ► DOC at a concentration of 5 mg/L resulted in an ∼20% reduction in CBZ removal. ► Alkalinity values of 100 mg/L as CaCO3 resulted in a 40% decrease in CBZ removal. ► Complete suppression of the photocatalytic process in wastewater effluent.