Use of quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry for the characterization of transformation products of the antibiotic sulfamethazine upon photocatalysis with Pd-doped ceria-ZnO nanocomposite.

The photocatalytic degradation of the antibiotic sulfamethazine under excitation at 365 nm of Pd-doped ceria-ZnO nanocomposite, titanium dioxide and iron(III) aqua complex was deeply studied from the analytical point of view. It reveals the formation of nine degradation products that were detected in their protonated forms using LC/electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight MS in the positive mode. Their formation involves the hydroxyl radical, and their concentrations increased with irradiation time. Collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry associated with the accurate mass measurements was efficiently used for the elucidation of their chemical structures. None of these identified degradation products has been already reported in the literature. Three by-products result from the hydroxylation at the pyrimidine moiety as well as at the aromatic part, two of them arise from the scission of the pyrimidine group, and finally, three of them come from the scission of the sulfamide bridge. This points the evidence of studying the fate of these degradation products if their toxicity is demonstrated because they are clearly the result of the reaction of hydroxyl radical with the antibiotic sulfamethazine.

Degradation of the pesticide carbofuran on clay and soil surfaces upon sunlight exposure.

In the present study, the photolysis of carbofuran has been undertaken under sunlight conditions and at the surface of model supports such as clay films and different soils collected from two different sites in Morocco (Tirs and Dahs). In all conditions, an efficient degradation occurred owing to direct light absorption and also to photoinduced processes involving either clays or natural organic matter moities. On kaolin films, the photodegradation kinetics appears to follow a first-order process that clearly depends on the film thickness. The diffusion of carbofuran from the lower part to the illuminated surface was found to be negligible when compared to the photolysis process within the range of 20-70 µm. Thus, the photolysis rate constant at the surface of the solid support, k (0), was evaluated to be 7.0 × 10(-3) min(-1). Under these experimental conditions, the quantum yield was found equal to 2.1 × 10(-4). On soil surfaces, the disappearance rate constant was mainly attributed to photoinduced processes arising from natural organic matter. From the analytical point of view, the products were formed through (1) hydroxylation on the aromatic ring, (2) homolytic scission of the carbamate C-O bond leading to radical species formation, and (3) photohydrolysis of the carbamate C-O bond.

LC/MS study of the UV filter hexyl 2-[4-(diethylamino)-2-hydroxybenzoyl]-benzoate (DHHB) aquatic chlorination with sodium hypochlorite.

The fate of modern personal care products in the environment is becoming a matter of increasing concern because of the growing production and assortment of these compounds. More and more chemicals of this class are treated as emerging contaminants. Transformation of commercially available products in the environment may result in the formation of a wide array of their metabolites. Personal care products in swimming pools and in drinking water reservoirs may undergo oxidation or chlorination. There is much data on the formation of more toxic metabolites from original low toxicity commercial products. Therefore, reliable identification of all possible transformation products and a thorough study of their physicochemical and biological properties are of high priority. The present study deals with the identification of the products of the aquatic chlorination of the hexyl 2-[4-(diethylamino)-2-hydroxybenzoyl]-benzoate ultraviolet filter. High-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) and HPLC/MS/MS with accurate mass measurements were used for this purpose. As a result, three chlorinated transformation products were identified.

Liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the analysis of sulfaquinoxaline byproducts formed in water upon solar light irradiation.

RATIONALE: Sulfonamides such as sulfaquinoxaline (SQX) are among the most important antibiotic families due to their extensive use in veterinary medicine. The prediction of their fate under solar irradiation through the identification of the generated metabolites is required. However, unambiguous structural characterizations often remain a challenge particularly when several isomers could match with the same MS(2) data. METHODS: Liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-Q-TOFMS) in the positive ion mode, leading to the formation of the protonated forms of the studied compounds, [M + H(+)] ions, was employed. Collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry (CID-MS/MS) of the protonated molecules was carried out, and the effect of the collision energy as well as the elemental compositions of the product ions were used to propose chemical structures. Validation of the hypothesized structures was performed by the calculation of key fragmentation pathway energies using density functional theory (DFT) calculations (B3LYP/6-31 G (d,p)). RESULTS: The photoproducts were identified as 2-aminoquinoxaline, SQX isomers, 2-(N-parabenzoquinoneimine)quinoxaline and isomers resulting from SO(2) extrusion. The direct fragmentations of [SQX + H](+) and its protonated isomers mostly occurred through the loss of 2-aminoquinoxaline and/or the 4-sulfoaniline radical ion, while their rearrangements involved the migration of H and/or O atoms. For the desulfonated byproducts in their protonated forms, the main neutral losses were of the quinoxaline radical, aminoquinoxaline and NH(3). The fragmentation of the protonated 2-aminoquinoxaline mainly involved the elimination of NH(3) and HCN. CONCLUSIONS: LC/ESI-Q-TOFMS and DFT calculations have been shown to be useful and complementary methods for the identification of unknown isomeric compounds and the elucidation of fragmentation patterns, in the case of the sulfaquinoxaline veterinary antibiotic.

Zinc(II) phthalocyanines immobilized in mesoporous silica Al-MCM-41 and their applications in photocatalytic degradation of pesticides.

In the present study the authors investigated a set of three new zinc(II) phthalocyanines (zinc(II) tetranitrophthalocyanine (ZnTNPc), zinc(II) tetra(phenyloxy)phthalocyanine (ZnTPhOPc) and the tetraiodide salt of zinc(II)tetra(N,N,N-trimethylaminoethyloxy) phthalocyaninate (ZnTTMAEOPcI)) immobilized into Al-MCM-41 prepared via ship-in-a-bottle methodology. The samples were fully characterized by diffuse reflectance-UV-vis spectroscopy (DRS-UV-vis), luminescence, thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DSC), N(2) adsorption techniques and elemental analysis. A comparative study was made on the photocatalytic performance upon irradiation within the wavelength range 320-460nm of these three systems in the degradation of pesticides fenamiphos and pentachlorophenol. ZnTNPc@Al-MCM-41 and ZnTTMAEOPcI@Al-MCM-41 were found to be the most active systems, with the best performance observed with the immobilized cationic phthalocyanine, ZnTTMAEOPcI@Al-MCM-41. This system showed high activity even after three photocatalytic cycles. LC-MS product characterization and mechanistic studies indicate that singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)), produced by excitation of these immobilized photosensitizers, is a key intermediate in the photocatalytic degradation of both pesticides.

Fe(III)-solar light induced degradation of diethyl phthalate (DEP) in aqueous solutions.

The degradation of diethyl phthalate (DEP) photoinduced by Fe(III) in aqueous solutions has been investigated under solar irradiation in the compound parabolic collector reactor at Plataforma Solar de Almeria. Hydroxyl radicals *OH, responsible of the degradation, are formed via an intramolecular photoredox process in the excited state of Fe(III) aquacomplexes. The primary step of the reaction is mainly due to the attack of *OH radicals on the aromatic ring. For prolonged irradiations DEP and its photoproducts are completely mineralized due to the regeneration of the absorbing species and the continuous formation of *OH radicals that confers a catalytic aspect to the process. Consequently, the degradation photoinduced by Fe(III) could be an efficient method of DEP removal from water.

Mechanism of (&mgr;-H)(&mgr;-alkenyl)Re(2)(CO)(8) Formation in 350 nm Flash Irradiations of Re(2)(CO)(10).

The mechanism of (&mgr;-H)(&mgr;-alkenyl)Re(2)(CO)(8) formation upon UV irradiations of Re(2)(CO)(10) in presence of olefin (styrene, trans-stilbene, 4-methyl-1-cyclohexane, and ethylene) was investigated by laser flash photolyses. Such photoproducts result from reactions of the olefin with eq-Re(2)(CO)(9). No reactions of Re(CO)(5) leading to hydride alkenyl products were observed. Dependences of the reaction rate on olefin concentration and solvent revealed an additional intermediate formed after the addition of the olefin to eq-Re(2)(CO)(9) and before the appearance of the &mgr;-hydrido-&mgr;-alkenyl products.

Electron-Transfer Reactions of Re(CO)(5): Atom-Transfer-Concerted Mechanism vs Bimetallic Intermediate Formation.

Flash photochemically generated Re(CO)(5) reacts with halide complexes, Cu(Me(4)[14]-1,3,8,10-tetraeneN(4))X(+), Cu(Me(2)pyo[14]trieneN(4))X(+), and Ni(Me(2)pyo[14]trieneN(4))X(+) (X = Cl, Br, I) and ion pairs, [Co(bipy)(3)(3+), X(-)]. The rate constants for the electron transfers have values, k approximately 10(9) M(-1) s(-1), close to expectations for processes with diffusion-controlled rates. Reaction intermediates, probably bimetallic species, were detected in electron-transfer reactions of Re(CO)(5) with Cu(Me(6)[14]dieneN(4))X(+), (X = Cl, Br, I). In the absence of the halides X(-), the electron-transfer reactions between Re(CO)(5) and these complexes are slow, k < 10(6) M(-1) s(-1). The results are discussed in terms of inner-sphere pathways, namely an atom-transfer-concerted mechanism. The mediation of bimetallic intermediates in the electron transfer is also considered.