Isotope fractionation of hydrogen stable isotopes for VOCs

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26550070
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Modeling and technologies for environmental conservation and remediation
• Research Institution: Akita Prefectural University
• Principal Investigator: Kawashima Hiroto 秋田県立大学, システム科学技術学部, 准教授 (60381331)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 揮発性有機化合物 / 安定同位体比 / 逆同位体効果 / 水素安定同位体 / GC/IRMS

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important precursors of ozone and secondary organic aerosols in the atmosphere, some of which are carcinogenic, teratogenic, or mutagenic. VOCs in ambient air originate from many sources, and undergo intricate chemical reactions in the atmosphere. To develop efficient air pollution remediation strategies, it is important to clearly identify the emission sources and elucidate the reaction mechanisms in the atmosphere. In this study, we investigated the stable hydrogen isotope ratios (δ2H) of the atmospheric volatile organic compounds under ultraviolet irradiation for various wavelengths and irradiation times. We were able to identify an inverse isotope effect for the δ2H values for benzene and toluene under ultraviolet irradiation. It is thought that the hybridization of CH bond had changed from sp2 to sp3, and the secondary KIE had occurred, the inverse isotope effect was observed as a result.

Free Research Field

環境科学