Citation:

Childers, J., D. Smith, N. Wilson, AND R. Barbour. ANALYSIS OF NITROCRESOLS AND RELATED COMPOUNDS BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY/MATRIX-ISOLATION INFRARED SPECTROMETRY. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-95/242.

Description:

The presence of nitrocresols and related compounds in the atmosphere has caused recent concerns regarding the potential for human health risks. everal of these compounds are suspected mutagens and are toxic to animal and plant life. itrocresols can be formed from the photooxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons, such as toluene, in the presence of NOx. hese compounds have been detected in urban air particulate matter. he characterization of nitrocresols in complex environmental samples often requires the use of more than one analytical technique. or example, several of the nitrocresols isomers am difficult to separate by gas chromatography and their mass spectra are very similar. his report describes the use of gas chromatography/ matrix isolation (GC/MIIR) spectrometry to identify specific nitrocresol isomers in extracts from the photooxidation of toluene in the presence of NOx under simulated atmospheric conditions in a smog chamber. hile developing an MIIR spectral data base of nitrocresol standards, we observed split OH stretching bands in some of the compounds. o investigate the origin of this splitting, spectra were acquired in an argon matrix, a xenon matrix, the vapor phase and in dilute CC14 solution. pectra recorded in the vapor phase and in dilute solution did not exhibit the band splitting. he band splitting was most likely caused by isolation of conformational isomers in the matrix or interactions between the nitrocresol molecules with the matrix material. he presence of the split OH absorption bands did not preclude the use of the GC/MIIR technique for identifying specific nitrocresols generated from the photooxidation of toluene and NOx.

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