Prediction of •OH-Initiated and •NO3-Initiated Transformation Products of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Electronic Structure Approaches

The abiotic reaction products of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with hydroxyl radicals (^•OH) and nitrate radicals (^•NO₃) are nitro-, oxygen-, and hydroxyl-containing PAHs (NPAHs, OPAHs, and OHPAHs). Four methods of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), Fukui function (FF), dual descriptor (DD), and population of π electrons (PP-π) are selected to predict the chemical reactivity of PAHs attacked by ^•OH and ^•NO₃ in this study. The predicted ^•OH-initiated and ^•NO₃-initiated transformation products are compared with the main PAH transformation products (PAH-TPs) observed in the laboratory. The results indicate that PP-π and DD approaches fail to predict the transformation products of fused PAHs containing five-membered rings. By predicting the PAH-TPs of 13-14 out of the 15 parent PAHs accurately, HOMO and FF methods were shown to be suitable for predicting the transformation products formed from the abiotic reactions of fused PAHs with ^•OH and ^•NO₃.

Secondary Formation of Aromatic Nitroderivatives of Environmental Concern: Photonitration Processes Triggered by the Photolysis of Nitrate and Nitrite Ions in Aqueous Solution

Aromatic nitroderivatives are compounds of considerable environmental concern, because some of them are phytotoxic (especially the nitrophenols, and particularly 2,4-dinitrophenol), others are mutagenic and potentially carcinogenic (e.g., the nitroderivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, such as 1-nitropyrene), and all of them absorb sunlight as components of the brown carbon. The latter has the potential to affect the climatic feedback of atmospheric aerosols. Most nitroderivatives are secondarily formed in the environment and, among their possible formation processes, photonitration upon irradiation of nitrate or nitrite is an important pathway that has periodically gained considerable attention. However, photonitration triggered by nitrate and nitrite is a very complex process, because the two ionic species under irradiation produce a wide range of nitrating agents (such as •NO2, HNO2, HOONO, and H2OONO+), which are affected by pH and the presence of organic compounds and, in turn, deeply affect the nitration of aromatic precursors. Moreover, aromatic substrates can highly differ in their reactivity towards the various photogenerated species, thereby providing different behaviours towards photonitration. Despite the high complexity, it is possible to rationalise the different photonitration pathways in a coherent framework. In this context, this review paper has the goal of providing the reader with a guide on what to expect from the photonitration process under different conditions, how to study it, and how to determine which pathway(s) are prevailing in the formation of the observed nitroderivatives.

Evaluating Computational and Structural Approaches to Predict Transformation Products of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) undergo transformation reactions with atmospheric photochemical oxidants, such as hydroxyl radicals (OH•), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and ozone (O3). The most common PAH-transformation products (PAH-TPs) are nitrated, oxygenated, and hydroxylated PAHs (NPAHs, OPAHs, and OHPAHs, respectively), some of which are known to pose potential human health concerns. We sampled four theoretical approaches for predicting the location of reactive sites on PAHs (i.e., the carbon where atmospheric oxidants attack), and hence the chemoselectivity of the PAHs. All computed results are based on density functional theory (B3LYP/6-31G(d) optimized structures and energies). The four approaches are (1) Clar's prediction of aromatic resonance structures, (2) thermodynamic stability of all OHPAH adduct intermediates, (3) computed atomic charges (Natural Bond order, ChelpG, and Mulliken) at each carbon on the PAH, and (4) average local ionization energy (ALIE) at atom or bond sites. To evaluate the accuracy of these approaches, the predicted PAH-TPs were compared to published laboratory observations of major NPAH, OPAH, and OHPAH products in both gas and particle phases. We found that the Clar's resonance structures were able to predict the least stable rings on the PAHs but did not offer insights in terms of which individual carbon is most reactive. The OHPAH adduct thermodynamics and the ALIE approaches were the most accurate when compared to laboratory data, showing great potential for predicting the formation of previously unstudied PAH-TPs that are likely to form in the atmosphere.