1,4-Hydroxycarbonyl Products of the OH Radical Initiated Reactions of C 5 −C 8 n -Alkanes in the Presence of NO (original) (raw)

2005, Environmental Science & Technology

Alkanes account for ∼50% of nonmethane organic compounds present in urban atmospheres. Previous studies have shown that hydroxycarbonyls are important products of the OH radical initiated reactions of gC 5 n-alkanes, but isomer-specific identifications and quantifications of these products have not been carried out. In this work, we have used solid-phase microextraction fibers precoated with O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine for onfiber derivatization of carbonyl-containing compounds with subsequent analyses by combined gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS) and GC with flame ionization detection (GC-FID). GC-MS analyses showed the presence of the oximes of 5-hydroxy-2-pentanone and 4-hydroxypentanal from the n-pentane reaction; 5-hydroxy-2-hexanone, 6-hydroxy-3-hexanone, and 4-hydroxyhexanal from the n-hexane reaction; 5-hydroxy-2-heptanone, 6-hydroxy-3heptanone, 1-hydroxy-4-heptanone, and 4-hydroxyheptanal from the n-heptane reaction; and 5-hydroxy-2-octanone, 6-hydroxy-3-octanone, 7-hydroxy-4-octanone, and 4-hydroxyoctanal from the n-octane reaction. The formation yields of these 1,4-hydroxycarbonyls were determined from GC-FID analyses. By use of the yields of 1,4-hydroxycarbonyls formed from n-hexane, n-heptane, and n-octane at 50% relative humidity (and those from n-pentane at both 5 and 50% relative humidity), then formation of 1,4-hydroxycarbonyls accounts for 54% of the reaction products from n-pentane, 57% from n-hexane, 51% from n-heptane, and 53% from n-octane. Combined with previously measured yields of carbonyls, alkyl nitrates, and hydroxyalkyl nitrates, we can now account for approximately 74-118% of the products formed from the n-pentane through n-octane reactions.