Photocatalytic Performance of Highly Active Brookite in the Degradation of Hazardous Organic Compounds Compared to Anatase and Rutile

•Less known highly crystalline nano-sized brookite was hydrothermally synthesized.•Brookite is superior photocatalytic active under sunlight and high pollutant loading.•Photocatalytic performance of brookite is compared with that of anatase and rutile.•Mineralization of cinnamic acid, ibuprofen and phenol is studied by TOC.•Formation of ibuprofen intermediates is studied with ESI-TOF-MS.