Reaction with nitrate radical

In addition to reactions with HO, tropospheric organic compounds may be oxidized by ozone (via ozonation of non-aromatic carbon/carbon double bonds, Atkinson 1990) and in some cases by reaction with nitrate radical, described below. Table I gives representative trace-gas removal rates for these three processes. In spite of these competing reactions, HO largely serves as... 

Considerable attention has been directed to the formation of nitroarenes that may be formed by several mechanisms (a) initial reaction with hydroxyl radicals followed by reactions with nitrate radicals or NO2 and (b) direct reaction with nitrate radicals. The first is important for arenes in the troposphere, whereas the second is a thermal reaction that occurs during combustion of arenes. The kinetics of formation of nitroarenes by gas-phase reaction with N2O5 has been examined for naphthalene (Pitts et al. 1985a) and methylnaphthalenes (Zielinska et al. 1989) biphenyl (Atkinson et al. 1987b,c) acephenanthrylene (Zielinska et al. 1988) and for adsorbed pyrene (Pitts et al. 1985b). Both... 

Carter, W.P.L., Winer, A.M., Pitts, J.N. Jr. (1981) Major atmospheric sink for phenol and the cresols. Reaction with nitrate radical. Environ. Sci. Technol. 15, 829-831. 

An example in which formation of a carbon radical is not the initial reaction is provided by the atmospheric reactions of organic sulfides and disulfides. They also provide an example in which rates of reaction with nitrate radicals exceed those with hydroxyl radicals. 2-dimethylthiopropionic acid is produced by algae and by the marsh grass Spartina alternifolia, and may then be metabolized in sediment slurries under anoxic conditions to dimethyl sulfide (Kiene and Taylor 1988), and by aerobic bacteria to methyl sulfide (Taylor and Gilchrist 1991). It should be added that methyl sulfide can be produced by biological methylation of sulfide itself (HS ) (Section 6.11.4). Dimethyl sulfide — and possibly also methyl sulfide — is oxidized in the troposphere to sulfur dioxide and methanesulfonic acids. 

The concentrations of all these depend on local conditions, the time of day, and both altitude and latitude. Values of ca. 10 molecules/cm for OH, 10 -10 ° molecules/cm for NO3, and ca. 10 molecules/cm for ozone have been reported. Not all of these reactants are equally important, and the rates of reaction with a substrate vary considerably. Reactions with hydroxyl radicals are generally the most important, and some illustrative values are given for the rates of reaction (cmVs/molecule) with hydroxyl radicals, nitrate radicals, and ozone (Atkinson 1990 summary of PAHs by Arey 1998)... 

Extensive research has been conducted into the atmospheric chemistry of organic chemicals because of air quality concerns. Recently, Atkinson and coworkers (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991), Altshuller (1980, 1991) and Sabljic and Glisten (1990) have reviewed the photochemistry of many organic chemicals of environmental interest for their gas phase reactions with hydroxyl radicals (OH), ozone (03) and nitrate radicals (N03) and have provided detailed information on reaction rate constants and experimental conditions, which allowed the estimation of atmospheric lifetimes. Klopffer (1991) has estimated the atmospheric lifetimes for the reaction with OH radicals to range from 1 hour to 130 years, based on these reaction rate constants and an assumed constant concentration of OH... 

As mentioned earlier, when NO concentration exceeds that of superoxide, nitric oxide mostly exhibits an inhibitory effect on lipid peroxidation, reacting with lipid peroxyl radicals. These reactions are now well studied [42-44]. The simplest suggestion could be the participation of NO in termination reaction with peroxyl radicals. However, it was found that NO reacts with at least two radicals during inhibition of lipid peroxidation [50]. On these grounds it was proposed that LOONO, a product of the NO recombination with peroxyl radical LOO is rapidly decomposed to LO and N02 and the second NO reacts with LO to form nitroso ester of fatty acid (Reaction (7), Figure 25.1). Alkoxyl radical LO may be transformed into a nitro epoxy compound after rearrangement (Reaction (8)). In addition, LOONO may be hydrolyzed to form fatty acid hydroperoxide (Reaction (6)). Various nitrated lipids can also be formed in the reactions of peroxynitrite and other NO metabolites. 

Titanium dioxide suspended in an aqueous solution and irradiated with UV light X = 365 nm) converted benzene to carbon dioxide at a significant rate (Matthews, 1986). Irradiation of benzene in an aqueous solution yields mucondialdehyde. Photolysis of benzene vapor at 1849-2000 A yields ethylene, hydrogen, methane, ethane, toluene, and a polymer resembling cuprene. Other photolysis products reported under different conditions include fulvene, acetylene, substituted trienes (Howard, 1990), phenol, 2-nitrophenol, 4-nitrophenol, 2,4-dinitrophenol, 2,6-dinitro-phenol, nitrobenzene, formic acid, and peroxyacetyl nitrate (Calvert and Pitts, 1966). Under atmospheric conditions, the gas-phase reaction with OH radicals and nitrogen oxides resulted in the formation of phenol and nitrobenzene (Atkinson, 1990). Schwarz and Wasik (1976) reported a fluorescence quantum yield of 5.3 x 10" for benzene in water. 

The amount of cyanogen chloride formed was inversely proportional to the pH of the solution. At pH 6, the greatest amount of cyanogen chloride was formed when the reaction mixture contained ammonium ion and hypochlorous acid at a ratio of 2 3 (Kanno et al., 1982). Benzene vapor reacted with nitrate radicals in purified air forming nitrobenzene (Chiodini et al., 1993). 

Chemical/Physical. Products identified from the reaction of toluene with nitric oxide and OH radicals include benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, 3-nitrotoluene, p-methylbenzoquinone, and o, m, and p-cresol (Kenley et ah, 1978). Gaseous toluene reacted with nitrate radicals in purified air forming the following products benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, benzyl nitrate, and 2-, 3-, and 4-nitro-toluene (Chiodini et al., 1993). Under atmospheric conditions, the gas-phase reaction with OH radicals and nitrogen oxides resulted in the formation of benzaldehyde, benzyl nitrate, 3-nitrotoluene, and o-, m-, and p-cresol (Finlayson-Pitts and Pitts, 1986 Atkinson, 1990). 

Cresols degrade rapidly in air. Removal during the day is dominated by the reaction with hydroxyl radical (HO-), while nighttime removal is probably dominated by the nitrate radical. Reaction with other oxidants in air (e.g., ozone) will be much slower than reactions with hydroxyl or nitrate radical (Atkinson and Carter 1984). 

In addition to degradation by hydroxyl and nitrate radicals, all three cresol molecules absorb small amounts of W light with wavelengths above 290 nm (Sadtler Index 1960a, 1960b, 1966). Therefore, direct photolysis is also possible however, the photolysis rate is probably slow compared to the reaction with atmospheric radicals. 

Kakesu, M., H. Bandow, N. Takenaka, Y. Maeda, and N. Washida, Kinetic Measurements of Methyl and Ethyl Nitrate Reactions with OH Radicals, Int. J. Chem. Kinet., 29, 933-941 (1997). 

Atkinson R, Aschmann SM, Goodman MA. 1987. Kinetics of the gas-phase reactions of nitrate radicals with a series of alkynes, haloalkenes, and alpha, beta-unsaturated aldehydes. Int J Chem Kinet 19 299-308. 

These radicals are produced by the reaction of OH radicals with nitrite anion in NjO-saturated solutions or by e reaction with nitrate... 

If released to the atmosphere, o-limonene is expected to rapidly undergo gas-phase oxidation reactions with photochemically produced hydroxyl radicals, ozone and, at night, with nitrate radicals. Limonene can react with ozone, forming submicron particulates that could impact asthmatics and those with other respiratory ailments. 

Atkinson R, Plum CN, Carter WPL, et al. 1984. Rate constants for the gas-phase reactions of nitrate radicals with a series of organics in air at 298 +/- 1 K. JPhysChem 88 1210-1215. 

Aldehydes are emitted by combustion processes and also are formed in the atmosphere from the photochemical degradation of other organic compounds. Aldehydes undergo photolysis, reaction with OH radicals, and reaction with N03 radicals in the troposphere. Reaction with N03 radicals is of relatively minor importance as a loss process for these compounds, but can be a minor contributor to the H02 (from formaldehyde) and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) formation during nighttime hours (Stockwell and Calvert, 1983 Cantrell et al., 1985). Thus, the major loss processes involve photolysis and reaction with OH radicals. 

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