Iron-catalyzed photochemical oxidation of benzoic acid in the atmospheric environment: Identification of reaction products and reaction mechanisms

Iron-catalyzed photochemical oxidation of benzoic acid, one of the major photodegradation products of petroleum hydrocarbons, with sunlight and monochromatic light in a wavelength range of 254-419 nm was studied. The photochemical oxidation of benzoic acid occurred at 245 nm either in the presence or in the absence of iron (III). Simultaneous presence of benzoic acid, iron (III), and light was necessary for the reaction to take place in a wavelength range of 300 and 419 nm. Four reaction products including salicylic acid, 3-hydroxybenzoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, and 3,4-hydroxybenzoic acid were separated and identified by the CE Method. The possible reaction mechanisms involved in the iron-catalyzed photochemical oxidation of benzoic acid in the atmospheric environment were proposed based on the identification of the reaction products. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 227th ACS National Meeting (Anaheim, CA 3/28/2004-4/1/2004).