J. Pitts, R. Atkinson, J. A. Sweetman
1985
Citations
2
Influential Citations
60
Citations
Journal
Atmospheric Environment
Abstract
Abstract While the formation of nitroarenes from the reaction of NO 2 , containing traces of HNO 3 , in air with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) adsorbed on combustion generated particles is now well recognized, little is known about the gas-phase reactions of PAH. In this study, the gas-phase reactions in air of N 2 O 3 with part-per-million levels of naphthalene have been studied at room temperature and atmospheric pressure in a 5800V Teflon-coated environmental chamber. The kinetic data obtained showed that in these N 2 O 5 -NO 3 -NO 2 -air mixtures studied, naphthalene did not react with the NO 3 radical at an observable rate, but that it reacted with N 2 O 5 with a rate constant of ~ (2–3) × 10 −17 cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 . Significant yields of 1-nitronaphthalene and 2-nitronaphthalene ( ~ 18 and ~ 7.5%, respectively) were obtained from this reaction. The latter is a procarcinogen capable of being metabolized in animals to the carcinogen β-naphthylamine. These results and their atmospheric implications are discussed.