Atmospheric oxidation of fluoroalcohols initiated by ˙OH radicals in the presence of water and mineral dusts: mechanism, kinetics, and risk assessment

The transport and formation of fluorinated compounds are greatly significant due to their possible environmental risks. In this work, the ˙OH-mediated degradation of CF3CF2CF2CH2OH and CF3CHFCF2CH2OH in the presence of O2/NO/NO2 was studied by using density functional theory and the direct kinetic method. The formation mechanisms of perfluorocarboxylic/hydroperfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs/H-PFCAs), which were produced from the reactions of α-hydroxyperoxy radicals with NO/NO2 and the ensuing oxidation of α-hydroxyalkoxy radicals, were clarified and discussed. The roles of water and silica particles in the rate constants and ˙OH reaction mechanism with fluoroalcohols were investigated theoretically. The results showed that water and silica particles do not alter the reaction mechanism but obviously change the kinetic properties. Water could retard fluoroalcohol degradation by decreasing the rate constants by 3-5 orders of magnitude. However, the heterogeneous ˙OH-rate coefficients on the silica particle surfaces, including H4SiO4, H6Si2O7, and H12Si6O18, are larger than that of the naked reaction by 1.20-24.50 times. This finding suggested that these heterogeneous reactions may be responsible for the atmospheric loss of fluoroalcohols and the burden of PFCAs. In addition, fluoroalcohols could be exothermically trapped by H12Si6O18, H6Si2O7, and H4SiO4, in which the chemisorption on H12Si6O18 is stronger than that on H6Si2O7 or H4SiO4. The global warming potentials and radiative forcing of CF3CF2CF2CH2OH/CF3CHFCF2CH2OH were calculated to assess their contributions to the greenhouse effect. The toxicities of individual species were also estimated via the ECOSAR program and experimental measurements. This work enhances the understanding of the environmental formation of PFCAs and the transformation of fluoroalcohols.

Kinetics and mechanism of OH-mediated degradation of three pentanols in the atmosphere

Pentanols as potential biofuels have attracted considerable interest, and thus it is of great importance to gain insights into their combustion and atmospheric chemistry.

First principle studies on the atmospheric oxidation of HFC-C1436 initiated by the OH radical

Study on the reactivity of HFC-C1436 with OH radical using electronic structure calculations.

Understanding the insight into the mechanisms and dynamics of the Cl-initiated oxidation of (CH3)3CC(O)X and the subsequent reactions in the presence of NO and O2 (X = F, Cl, and Br)

In this work, the density functional and high-level ab initio theories are adopted to investigate the mechanisms and kinetics of reaction of (CH₃)₃CC(O)X (X = F, Cl, and Br) with atomic chlorine. Rate coefficients for the reactions of chlorine atom with (CH₃)₃CC(O)F (k₁), (CH₃)₃CC(O)Cl (k₂), and (CH₃)₃CC(O)Br (k₃) are calculated using canonical variational transition state theory coupled with small curvature tunneling method over a wide range of temperatures from 250 to 1000 K. The dynamic calculations are performed by the variational transition state theory with the interpolated single-point energies method at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ//B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. Computed rate constant is in good line with the available experimental value. The rate constants for the title reactions are in this order: k₁<k₂<k₃, suggesting that the effect of halogen substitution on the mechanisms and dynamics is different. The subsequent and secondary reactions for the hydrogen abstraction intermediates are studied involving NO and O₂ molecules in the atmosphere. The atmospheric lifetime and global warming potential (GWP) of (CH₃)₃CC(O)X (X = F, Cl, and Br) are estimated, and it shows that (CH₃)₃CC(O)F have larger GWP value than that of (CH₃)₃CC(O)Cl and (CH₃)₃CC(O)Br. Due to the presence of Cl and Br atoms, the environmental impact of (CH₃)₃CC(O)Cl and (CH₃)₃CC(O)Br may be given more concerns.

Theoretical insight into OH- and Cl-initiated oxidation of CF3OCH(CF3)2 and CF3OCF2CF2H &fate of CF3OC(X•)(CF3)2 and CF3OCF2CF2X• radicals (X=O, O2)

In this study, the mechanistic and kinetic analysis for reactions of CF₃OCH(CF₃)₂ and CF₃OCF₂CF₂H with OH radicals and Cl atoms have been performed at the CCSD(T)//B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level. Kinetic isotope effects for reactions CF₃OCH(CF₃)₂/CF₃OCD(CF₃)₂ and CF₃OCF₂CF₂H/CF₃OCF₂CF₂D with OH and Cl were estimated so as to provide the theoretical estimation for future laboratory investigation. All rate constants, computed by canonical variational transition state theory (CVT) with the small-curvature tunneling correction (SCT), are in reasonable agreement with the limited experimental data. Standard enthalpies of formation for the species were also calculated. Atmospheric lifetime and global warming potentials (GWPs) of the reaction species were estimated, the large lifetimes and GWPs show that the environmental impact of them cannot be ignored. The organic nitrates can be produced by the further oxidation of CF₃OC(•)(CF₃)₂ and CF₃OCF₂CF₂• in the presence of O₂ and NO. The subsequent decomposition pathways of CF₃OC(O•)(CF₃)₂ and CF₃OCF₂CF₂O• radicals were studied in detail. The derived Arrhenius expressions for the rate coefficients over 230–350 K are: k_T(1)= 5.00 × 10⁻²⁴T^3.57 exp(−849.73/T), k_T(2)= 1.79 × 10⁻²⁴T^4.84 exp(−4262.65/T), k_T(3)= 1.94 × 10⁻²⁴T^4.18 exp(−884.26/T), and k_T(4) = 9.44 × 10⁻²⁸T^5.25 exp(−913.45/T) cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹.

Atmospheric chemistry of CF3(CX2)2CH2OH: rate coefficients and temperature dependence of reactions with chlorine atoms and the subsequent pathways of alkyl and alkoxy radicals (X = H, F)

The atmospheric and kinetic properties of CF₃(CX₂)₂CH₂OH (X = H, F) with chlorine atoms were studied by density functional and canonical variational transition state theories in conjunction with the small-curvature tunneling correction.