Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and many of their derivatives are considered to be ubiquitous environmental pollutants, which often exhibit mutagenic and/or carcinogenic activity. In the atmosphere, photolysis is generally considered to be the dominant degradation pathway for these pollutants. The photochemical behaviours of benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and benzo(k)fluoranthene have been examined in the laboratory. This study was complemented by an analysis of ambient air samples collected in the vicinity of a Horizontal Stud Soderberg aluminum smelter in Beauharnois, Quebec. Benzo(a)pyrene is much more reactive in the presence of light when compared to the fluoranthene compounds. The products were identified as the 1,6-, 3,6- and 6,12-benzo(a)pyrenediones. An analysis of the ambient air samples revealed the prevalence of benzo(b)fluoranthene in the emissions from the aluminum smelter. Its relatively high abundance and resistance to degradation indicates that it will be a suitable indicator to represent total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels at the smelter. The photochemical behaviour of a series of nitropolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons has also been investigated. The photoreactivity of these compounds in solution and adsorbed onto a surface has previously been associated with the torsion angle of the nitro group with respect to the aromatic moiety. Initially, through a combination of spectroscopic techniques and semi-empirical calculations, the orientation of the nitro group in each compound was determined. Solution studies were inconclusive in determining the role of the torsion angle of the nitro group in influencing the photochemical degradation. However, when the compounds were adsorbed onto a surface, no relationship could be established between photoreactivity and the orientation. The stability of these compounds was also examined during the sampling process. In an effort to further examine the relationship between th
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.84446 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Warner, Stephanie D. |
| Contributors | Butler, Ian S. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Chemistry.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001982755, proquestno: AAINQ88599, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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