CAREER: Measurement of Photochemical Mechanisms, Rates, and Pathways of Radical Formation in Complex Organic Compounds

在化学系环境化学科学(ECS)计划和既定的刺激竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)的支持下，新奥尔良大学的David C.Podgorski和他的学生将研究碳氢化合物暴露在阳光下的过程、时间长度和存活下来的化合物。美国水域每年发生数千起漏油事件。石油中含有数十万种化合物，它们的化学转化产物会对人类健康和敏感的水生生态系统产生有害影响。来自太阳的能量可以化学分解在这种漏油中释放的成分。关于石油中数百种小型化合物在太阳下的分解和去除过程，有大量的信息。然而，对多芳烃(PAH)馏分的化学去向缺乏了解，多芳烃是石油中一种重要的化合物类别。项目数据将显示太阳如何将这些化合物从环境中移除，以及需要多长时间。此外，该项目将为不同的学生提供培训和指导。高中生将在暑假参与研究。将进行实验，以测量复杂有机化合物在模拟阳光下的化学变化。重点将放在聚芳烃(PAH)组分和稠苯体系辐照产生的氧化产物的结构和分布上。降解产物的化学成分将通过超高分辨率质谱仪和红外光谱进行测定。化学探针法、光谱学和实验室泵浦-探针法将用于研究光生反应瞬变。将确定分散剂、太阳辐照度、温度和化学结构对上述过程的影响。这项工作将向利益相关者提供信息，并为高中、本科生和研究生提供劳动力发展培训机会。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With support from the Environmental Chemical Sciences (ECS) Program in the Division of Chemistry and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), David C. Podgorski at the University of New Orleans and his students will study the process, length of time, and compounds that survive when hydrocarbon compounds are exposed to sunlight. Thousands of oil spills occur each year in U.S. waters. There are hundreds of thousands of chemical compounds in oil, and the products of their chemical transformation can have deleterious effects on human health and sensitive aquatic ecosystems. The energy from the sun can chemically break down the components released in such oil spills. There is a plethora of information about the breakdown and removal process of a couple of hundred small-size compounds in oil by the sun. However, knowledge is lacking about the chemical fate of the polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) fraction, an important compound class in the oil. Project data will show how the sun removes these compounds from the environment and how long it takes. In addition, this project will provide training and mentoring to diverse students. High school students will be involved in research in the summer. Experiments will be performed to measure the chemical changes of complex organic compounds when subjected to simulated sunlight. The will be a particular focus on polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) fraction and on the structure and distribution of oxidation products derived from irradiation of fused benzenoid systems. The chemical composition of degradation products will be measured by ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy. Chemical probe, spectroscopic, and laboratory pump-probe methods will be used to study photo-produced reactive transients. The effects of dispersant, solar irradiance, temperature, and chemical structure on the above processes will be determined. The work will inform stakeholders and provide workforce development training opportunities for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.