Ozone reaction with indoor surfaces

On indoor surfaces, aldehydes are the prominent product observed, probably because they are more volatile and easier to detect than other possible products. In Scheme 13.6, ozone splits the linoleic ester into C6 and C9 aldehydes and acids. In ozone reactions with carpet, Morrison and Nazaroff (2002) found the aldehyde yield to range from 0.1 to 0.74 for summed aldehydes. A yield of 0.5 would be expected if aldehydes and acids were formed equally in Scheme 13.6. Low yields... 

Ozone-nicotine surface chemistry has recently been identified by Destaillats et al. (2006a). Nicotine and other products of tobacco smoking adsorb strongly to indoor surfaces. In the presence of ozone, surface nicotine can form a variety of products (Scheme 13.7). On cotton, high humidity inhibits this reaction. Ozone attacks the pyrrolidinic N, suggesting that other indoor surface bound species with this functionality may be oxidized in this manner. Not only does this chemistry generate volatile by-products, it may explain why indoor nicotine concentrations correlate poorly with exposure to tobacco smoke. This raises the question, what other, similarly functionalized, surface amines may also react with ozone in indoor environments ... 

Ham, J.E. and Wells, J.R. (2008) Surface chemistry reactions of alpha-terpineol [(r)-2-(4-methyl-3-cyclohexenyl)isopropanol] with ozone and air on a glass and a vinyl tile. Indoor Air, 18 (5), 394-407. 

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