Hydrogen atom abstraction from Piperazine by hydroxyl radical: a theoretical investigation

New insights into the degradation mechanism of ibuprofen in the UV/H2O2 process: role of natural dissolved matter in hydrogen transfer reactions

Ibuprofen (IBU), a widely used antipyretic and analgesic, has been frequently detected in various natural water systems. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are effective ways to remove pollutants from water. The degradation of IBU under UV/H2O2 conditions in the presence of various kinds of natural dissolved matter was investigated using density functional theory (DFT). The eco-toxicological properties were predicted based on a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model. The calculated results showed that two H-abstraction reactions occurring at the side chain are predominant pathways in the initial reaction. H2O, NH3, CH3OH, C2H5OH, HCOOH and CH3COOH can catalyze the H transfer in the degradation process through decreasing the energy barriers and the catalysis effects follow the order of NH3 > alcohols > acids > H2O. The catalysis effects differ under acid or alkaline conditions. The overall rate coefficient of the reaction of IBU with ˙OH is calculated to be 5.04 × 109 M-1 s-1 at 298 K. IBU has harmful effects on aquatic organisms and human beings and the degradation process cannot significantly reduce its toxicity. Among all products, 2-(4-formylphenyl)propanoic acid, which is more toxic than IBU, is the most toxic with acute and chronic toxicity, developmental toxicity, mutagenicity, genotoxic carcinogenicity and irritation/corrosivity to skin. The findings in this work provide new insights into the degradation of IBU and can help to assess its environmental risks.

OH Kinetics with a Range of Nitrogen-Containing Compounds: N-Methylformamide, t-Butylamine, and N-Methyl-propane Diamine

Emissions of amines and amides to the atmosphere are significant from both anthropogenic and natural sources, and amides can be formed as secondary pollutants. Relatively little kinetic data exist on overall rate coefficients with OH, the most important tropospheric oxidant, and even less on site-specific data which control the product distribution. Structure-activity relationships (SARs) can be used to estimate both quantities. Rate coefficients for the reaction of OH with t-butylamine (k₁), N-methyl-1,3-propanediamine (k₂), and N-methylformamide (k₃) have been measured using laser flash photolysis coupled with laser-induced fluorescence. Proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) has been used to ensure the reliable introduction of these low-vapor pressure N-containing compounds and to give qualitative information on products. Supporting ab initio calculations are presented for the t-butylamine system. The following rate coefficients have been determined: k_1,298K= (1.66 ± 0.20) × 10^-11 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1, k(T)₁ = 1.65 × 10^-11 (T/300)^-0.69 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1, k_2,293K = (7.09 ± 0.22) × 10^-11 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1, and k_3,298K = (1.03 ± 0.23) × 10^-11 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1. For OH + t-butylamine, ab initio calculations predict that the fraction of N-H abstraction is 0.87. The dominance of this channel was qualitatively confirmed using end-product analysis. The reaction of OH with N-methyl-1,3-propanediamine also had a negative temperature dependence, but the reduction in the rate coefficient was complicated by reagent loss. The measured rate coefficient for reaction 3 is in good agreement with a recent relative rate study. The results of this work and the literature data are compared with the recent SAR estimates for the reaction of OH with reduced nitrogen compounds. Although the SARs reproduce the overall rate coefficients for reactions, site-specific agreement with this work and other literature studies is less strong.

Experimental and Theoretical Study of the OH-Initiated Degradation of Piperazine under Simulated Atmospheric Conditions

The OH-initiated photo-oxidation of piperazine and 1-nitropiperazine as well as the photolysis of 1-nitrosopiperazine were investigated in a large atmospheric simulation chamber. The rate coefficient for the reaction of piperazine with OH radicals was determined by the relative rate method to be k_{OH-piperazine} = (2.8 ± 0.6) × 10^–10 cm³ molecule^–1 s^–1 at 307 ± 2 K and 1014 ± 2 hPa. Product studies showed the piperazine + OH reaction to proceed both via C–H and N–H abstraction, resulting in the formation of 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyrazine as the major product and in 1-nitropiperazine and 1-nitrosopiperazine as minor products. The branching in the piperazinyl radical reactions with NO, NO₂, and O₂ was obtained from 1-nitrosopiperazine photolysis experiments and employed analyses of the 1-nitropiperazine and 1-nitrosopiperazine temporal profiles observed during piperazine photo-oxidation. The derived initial branching between N–H and C–H abstraction by OH radicals, k_N–H/(k_N–H + k_C–H), was 0.18 ± 0.04. All experiments were accompanied by substantial aerosol formation that was initiated by the reaction of piperazine with nitric acid. Both primary and secondary photo-oxidation products including 1-nitropiperazine and 1,4-dinitropiperazine were detected in the aerosol particles formed. Corroborating atmospheric photo-oxidation schemes for piperazine and 1-nitropiperazine were derived from M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ quantum chemistry calculations and master equation modeling of the pivotal reaction steps. The atmospheric chemistry of piperazine is evaluated, and a validated chemical mechanism for implementation in dispersion models is presented.

Piperazine Enhancing Sulfuric Acid-Based New Particle Formation: Implications for the Atmospheric Fate of Piperazine

Piperazine (PZ), a cyclic diamine, is one of 160 detected atmospheric amines and an alternative solvent to the widely used monoethanolamine in post-combustion CO₂ capture. Participating in H₂SO₄ (sulfuric acid, SA)-based new particle formation (NPF) could be an important removal pathway for PZ. Here, we employed quantum chemical calculations and kinetics modeling to evaluate the enhancing potential of PZ on SA-based NPF by examining the formation of PZ-SA clusters. The results indicate that PZ behaves more like a monoamine in stabilizing SA and can enhance SA-based NPF at the parts per trillion (ppt) level. The enhancing potential of PZ is less than that of the chainlike diamine putrescine and greater than that of dimethylamine, which is one of the strongest enhancing agents confirmed by ambient observations and experiments. After the initial formation of the (PZ)₁(SA)₁ cluster, the cluster mainly grows by gradual addition of SA or PZ monomer, followed by addition of (PZ)₁(SA)₁ cluster. We find that the ratio of PZ removal by NPF to that by the combination of NPF and oxidations is 0.5-0.97 at 278.15 K. As a result, we conclude that participation in the NPF pathway could significantly alter the environmental impact of PZ compared to only considering oxidation pathways.

Atmospheric Oxidation of Piperazine Initiated by ·Cl: Unexpected High Nitrosamine Yield

Chlorine radicals (·Cl) initiated amine oxidation plays an important role for the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamine in the atmosphere. Piperazine (PZ) is considered as a potential atmospheric pollutant since it is an alternative solvent to monoethanolamine (MEA), a benchmark solvent in a leading CO₂ capture technology. Here, we employed quantum chemical methods and kinetics modeling to investigate ·Cl-initiated atmospheric oxidation of PZ, particularly concerning the potential of PZ to form nitrosamine compared to MEA. Results showed that the ·Cl-initiated PZ reaction exclusively leads to N-center radicals (PZ-N) that mainly react with NO to produce nitrosamine in their further reaction with O₂/NO. Together with the PZ + ·OH reaction, the PZ-N yield from PZ oxidation is still lower than that of the corresponding MEA reactions. However, the nitrosamine yield of PZ is higher than the reported value for MEA when [NO] is <5 ppb, a concentration commonly encountered in a polluted urban atmosphere. The unexpected high nitrosamine yield from PZ compared to MEA results from a more favorable reaction of N-center radicals with NO compared to O₂. These findings show that the yield of N-center radicals cannot directly be used as a metric for the yield of the corresponding carcinogenic nitrosamine.

Theoretical and Experimental Study on the Reaction of tert-Butylamine with OH Radicals in the Atmosphere

The OH-initiated atmospheric degradation of tert-butylamine (tBA), (CH₃)₃CNH₂, was investigated in a detailed quantum chemistry study and in laboratory experiments at the European Photoreactor (EUPHORE) in Spain. The reaction was found to mainly proceed via hydrogen abstraction from the amino group, which in the presence of nitrogen oxides (NO _x), generates tert-butylnitramine, (CH₃)₃CNHNO₂, and acetone as the main reaction products. Acetone is formed via the reaction of tert-butylnitrosamine, (CH₃)₃CNHNO, and/or its isomer tert-butylhydroxydiazene, (CH₃)₃CN═NOH, with OH radicals, which yield nitrous oxide (N₂O) and the (CH₃)₃Ċ radical. The latter is converted to acetone and formaldehyde. Minor predicted and observed reaction products include formaldehyde, 2-methylpropene, acetamide and propan-2-imine. The reaction in the EUPHORE chamber was accompanied by strong particle formation which was induced by an acid-base reaction between photochemically formed nitric acid and the reagent amine. The tert-butylaminium nitrate salt was found to be of low volatility, with a vapor pressure of 5.1 × 10^-6 Pa at 298 K. The rate of reaction between tert-butylamine and OH radicals was measured to be 8.4 (±1.7) × 10^-12 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1 at 305 ± 2 K and 1015 ± 1 hPa.