Photodegradation of methyl thioglycolate particles as a proxy for organosulphur containing droplets.

Understanding the formation and transformation of sulphur-rich particles is of prime importance since they contribute to the global atmospheric sulphur budget. In this work, we performed a series of experiments on a photoactive organosulphur compound namely, methyl thioglycolate, as a model of an organosulphur species of marine origin. By investigating the photoproducts within levitated droplets, we showed that elemental sulphur (α-S8) and sulphate (SO42-) can be photochemically generated at the gas-liquid interface by heterogeneous interaction with gaseous O2 and H2O. These results demonstrate that the surface of levitated droplets facilitate the oxidation of methyl thioglycolate in the dark, while illumination is necessary to produce the oxidation in bulk experiments.

Electronic structure determination using an assembly of conventional and synchrotron techniques: The case of a xanthate complex.

The electronic properties of the coordination complex nickel (II) bis-n-propylxanthate, Ni(CH3(CH2)2OC(S)S)2, were studied by a combination of complementary experimental (both laboratory and synchrotron based techniques) and theoretical methods. Energy differences between HOMOs and LUMOs were determined from UV-visible spectroscopy. The assignment of the transitions were performed with the aid of TD-DFT calculations and based in symmetry considerations. The analysis of the Raman excitation profiles of selected vibrational modes of the complex, taken in resonance with a particular electronic transition, was found to reinforce the electronic assignment. Experimental binding energies of inner and core electrons were determined by PES measurements. Ni K-edge, S K-edge, Ni L-edge, O K-edge and C K-edge XANES spectra were interpreted in terms of the promotion of core electrons to unoccupied electronic levels. An experimental quantitative molecular orbital diagram was constructed using the information extracted from the different techniques.

Conformational and spectroscopic study of xanthogen ethyl formates, ROC(S)SC(O)OCH2CH3. Isolation of CH3CH2OC(O)SH.

ROC(S)SC(O)OCH2CH3, with R=CH3-, (CH3)2CH- and CH3(CH2)2-, were obtained through the reaction between potassium xanthate salts, ROC(S)SK, and ethyl chloroformate, ClC(O)OCH2CH3. The liquid compounds were identified and characterized by (1)H and (13)C NMR and mass spectrometry. The conformations adopted by the molecules were studied by DFT methods. 6 conformers were theoretically predicted for R=CH3- and (CH3)2CH-, while the conformational flexibility of the n-propyl substituent increases the total number of feasible rotamers to 21. For the three molecules, the conformers can be associated in 3 groups, being the most stable the AS forms - the C=S double bond anti (A) with respect to the C-S single bond and the S-C single bond syn (S) with respect to the C=O double bond - followed by AA and SS conformers. The vibrational spectra were interpreted in terms of the predicted conformational equilibrium, presenting the ν(C=O) spectral region signals corresponding to the three groups of conformers. A moderated pre-resonance Raman enhancement of the ν(C=S) vibrational mode of CH3(CH2)2OC(S)SC(O)OCH2CH3 was detected, when the excitation radiation approaches the energy of a n→π∗ electronic transition associated with the C=S chromophore. UV-visible spectra in different solvents were measured and interpreted in terms of TD-DFT calculations. The unknown molecule CH3CH2OC(O)SH was isolated by the UV-visible photolysis of CH3OC(S)SC(O)OCH2CH3 isolated in Ar matrix, and also obtained as a side-product of the reaction between potassium xanthate salts, ROC(S)SK, and ethyl chloroformate, ClC(O)OCH2CH3.