Waste-free chemistry of diazonium salts and benign separation of coupling products in solid salt reactions

Mechanochemical remediation of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) amended sand and aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) impacted soil by planetary ball milling

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are manmade, fluorinated organic chemicals which have been identified as persistent organic pollutants. PFAS have surface active properties that have made them suitable for applications in oil- and water-resistant products, as well as many firefighting foams. No on-site remediation strategies exist to treat PFAS impacted soils. Mechanochemical remediation of PFOS- and PFOA-amended sand via a planetary ball mill was studied. The effect of sand mass, KOH as a co-milling reagent, and water saturation on the degradation of PFOA and PFOS was evaluated. By 4 h of milling concentrations were reduced by up to 98% for PFOS-amended dry sand and 99% for PFOA-amended dry sand without the addition of a co-milling reagent. Water saturation was determined to be a significant hindrance on the mechanochemical destruction of PFOS and PFOA. A maximum of 89% of fluoride was recovered from PFOS-amended sand when KOH was used as a co-milling reagent. It is hypothesized that reactive particles generated from the fracture of sand grains react with PFAS molecules to initiate destruction, which can result in full defluorination. Milling experiments were also conducted on soils from a Canadian firefighting training area (FFTA), demonstrating that PFOS concentrations can be reduced by up to 96% in site soils. For the first time, ball milling for the remediation of PFAS in environmental media has been demonstrated using amended sand and legacy soils from a FFTA.

Continuous generation, in-line quantification and utilization of nitrosyl chloride in photonitrosation reactions

The reagent is prepared from stable, inexpensive and readily available starting materials. In-line UV/vis monitoring enables determination of the reagent's concentration after a continuous extraction and liquid–liquid separation sequence.

Analysis of reaction kinetics in the photomechanical molecular crystal 9-methylanthracene using an extended Finke-Watzky model

In order to develop an improved description of the photomechanical response of 9-methylanthracene (9MA) microcrystals, a detailed study of its solid-state photochemical reaction kinetics is performed. The reaction progress is monitored through the decrease in absorption of an optically microcrystalline thin film. The evolution of the time-dependent photoluminescence during the reaction is also measured. Both the photochemical reaction and nonradiative relaxation rates increase as more photoproduct is formed. In order to analyze the data, an extended version of the Finke-Watzky kinetic model for photochemical reactions is derived, denoted the FW-P model. This extended version enables a systematic analysis of photochemical reaction kinetics in solid-state molecular systems at varying levels of approximation. The FW-P model describes the non-exponential decrease in reactant and also correctly predicts the magnitude of the observed decrease in photoluminescence lifetime over the course of the reaction. The lifetime analysis is complicated by the fact that the microcrystalline 9MA sample contains multiple emitting species, and the extended FW-P model fails to capture the exact dependence of the photoluminescence on product formation. Analysis of the 9MA data indicates that both the photodimerization and the nonradiative relaxation rates can be accelerated by a factor of 10 over the course of the reaction. The results in this paper demonstrate that autocatalytic photodimerization kinetics are present in crystalline 9MA and may influence its photomechanical response.

Sustainable Synthesis of Balsalazide and Sulfasalazine Based on Diazotization with Low Concentrations of Nitrogen Dioxide in Air

Low concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, which arises as a side product from a range of industrial processes, can effectively be recycled through the diazotization of anilines. The studies reported herein now demonstrate that the removal of nitrogen dioxide from gas streams is even more effective when hydrophilic anilines are used as starting materials. The diazonium salts, which are obtained in this way in up to quantitative yields, can directly be employed in azo coupling reactions, thus opening up an attractive route to the industrially important group of azo compounds.

Formation and reactivity of 3-diazopyridinium cations and influence on their reductive electrografting on glassy carbon

The in situ generation of 3-diazonium cations from 3-aminopyridine and their subsequent stability under experimental conditions used for electrografting of pyridine groups were investigated by spectroscopy and electrochemistry. UV spectroscopy revealed the rapid kinetics for the reaction of 3-aminopyridine with sodium nitrite in HCl to form the 3-diazopyridinium cation with a second-order rate constant of 550 ± 20 L mol(-1) s(-1) at 22 °C. UV spectroscopy showed that the 3-diazopyridinium ion was relatively unstable and its transformation into 3-hydroxypyridine was proven by (1)H NMR. Its hydrolytic decomposition was investigated by NMR and followed first-order kinetics with a rate constant of (53 ± 5) × 10(-3) s(-1) at 22 °C. These results enable us to establish the appropriate conditions for the electrografting of pyridine from the corresponding diazonium cations generated in situ. The electrochemical modification of glassy carbon electrodes with pyridine was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and the resulting grafted layer by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in the presence of Fe(CN)(6)(3-/4-) as redox probes. The effect of diazotization time before electrochemical reduction on the blocking effect of the grafted layer was investigated and showed that an increase of the diazotization time led to less efficient grafting. The presence of immobilized pyridine on the electrode surface was demonstrated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, and a surface coverage of 8.8 × 10(-10) mol cm(-2) was estimated for the grafted pyridine groups. The significance of these results for researchers using the in situ generation approach for electrochemical and chemical grafting is discussed.

Mechanism of enzymatic degradation of the azo dye Orange II determined by ex situ 1H nuclear magnetic resonance and electrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry

Removal of azo dye effluents generated by textile photography industries is a main issue in wastewater treatment. Enzymatic treatment of dyes appears to be one of the most efficient processes for their degradation. The elucidation of degradation pathways is of special interest considering health and environmental priorities. Ex situ nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and electrospray ionization (ESI)-ion trap mass spectrometry performed directly on incubation medium have been used for the first time to follow kinetics of sulfonated azo dye Orange II enzymatic degradation. Nine transformation products were identified using these complementary analyses performed ex situ without any prior treatment. Three types of cleavage are proposed for the degradation pathway: (i) a symmetrical splitting of the azo linkage that leads to the formation of 4-aminobenzenesulfonate (and 1-amino-2-naphthol, not detected); (ii) an asymmetrical cleavage on the naphthalene side that generates 1,2-naphthoquinone and 4-diazoniumbenzenesulfonate as products, with the latter one being transformed into 4-hydroxybenzensulfonate; and (iii) a third degradation pathway that leads to 2-naphthol and 4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate. Moreover, three other intermediates have been identified. This study, which constitutes the first concomitant use of (1)H NMR spectroscopy and ESI-ion trap mass spectrometry in this field, illustrates the indubitable interest of the ex situ approach.