Transformation products of the high-volume production chemicals 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidinone and 2-piperazin-1-ylethanamine formed by UV photolysis

This work investigates the reaction of 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidinone (VP) and 2-piperazin-1-yletanamine (PPE) under UV radiation. Both substances are high-volume production chemicals (production >1000 tons/year) widely used in polymers, coatings and a wide array of applications, which have been classified as mobile chemicals and which can then lead to the formation of persistent and mobile transformation products (TPs). Thus, their reaction with UV light was studied by means of liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LCQTOF-MS). Both compounds presented a high reactivity, the VP quantum yield was 0.28 mol/E; whereas, PPE had a quantum yield notably higher than 1 (16 mol/E). Five and 7 TPs were identified for VP and PPE, respectively. Some of them had been already reported in literature due to sunlight photodegradation or other oxidation processes, but most of them are reported here for the first time. Finally, the acute and chronical toxicity of precursors and TPs were estimated using two quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) software tools which led to some discrepancies in the estimations, pointing to the need for experimental toxicity assays for these compounds.

Automated summary

This study investigated the reaction of VP and PPE under UV radiation, finding high quantum yields and reactivity, leading to the formation of multiple transformation products. The toxicity of precursors and TPs was estimated using QSAR software tools, highlighting the need for experimental toxicity assays.