A spectroscopic identification of the products formed in the gas-phase reaction of OH with the atmospheric sulfur compounds: CH/sub 3/SH, CH/sub 3/SSCH/sub 3/ and SO/sub 2/
The mechanism for the conversion of naturally occurring atmospheric sulfur compounds to sulfur dioxide is not yet established. The sulfur dioxide produced during degradation of sulfur compounds can undergo further chemical and/or physical interactions to form sulfuric acid, which is one of the components of acid rain. A number of sulfur compounds have been detected in the atmosphere; COS (carbonyl sulfide), CS/sub 2/ (carbon disulfide), H/sub 2/S (hydrogen sulfide), CH/sub 3/SH (methyl mercaptan), CH/sub 3/SCH/sub 3/ (dimethyl sulfide) and CH/sub 3/SSCH/sub 3/ (dimethyl disulfide). It is generally believed that the biological reduction of sulfur compounds is a major natural source for these atmospheric sulfur compounds. The chemical degradation of sulfur compounds of the type X-S-Y (X = H or CH/sub 3/, Y = H, CH/sub 3/ or SCH/sub 3/) is proposed to be initiated by their reactions with OH radicals. The proposed mechanisms for the sulfur compounds used in this study (CH/sub 3/SH, CH/sub 3/SSCH/sub 3/ and SO/sub 2/) are: a) the OH radical forms a weak complex with CH/sub 3/SH which further reacts with O/sub 2/ before decomposing to form sulfur dioxide; b) an adduct is formed between CH/sub 3/SSCH/sub 3/ and OH radical which decomposes to yield CH/sub 3/S and CH/sub 3/SOH. These mechanisms have been proposed to account for the pressure-dependence and temperature-dependence of the observed reaction rates. The mercaptyl radical thus formed could undergo further chemical reactions.
- Research Organization:
- School of Geophysical Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332
- OSTI ID:
- 5655503
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-860425-
- Journal Information:
- Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States), Journal Name: Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States) Vol. 31:2; ISSN ACPCA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
400104 -- Spectral Procedures-- (-1987)
500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
CHEMICAL REACTION YIELD
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXYL RADICALS
INORGANIC ACIDS
KINETICS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
QUALITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
RADICALS
REACTION INTERMEDIATES
REACTION KINETICS
SPECTROSCOPY
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR DIOXIDE
SULFUR OXIDES
SULFURIC ACID
YIELDS