Accurate identification of radicals by in-situ electron paramagnetic resonance in ultraviolet-based homogenous advanced oxidation processes

Accurate identification of radicals in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) is important to study the mechanisms on radical production and subsequent oxidation-reduction reaction. The commonly applied radical quenching experiments cannot provide direct evidences on generation and evolution of radicals in AOPs, while electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is a cutting-edge technology to identify radicals based on spectral characteristics. However, the complexity of EPR spectrum brings uncertainty and inconsistency to radical identification and mechanism clarification. This work presented a comprehensive study on identification of radicals by in-situ EPR analysis in four typical UV-based homogenous AOPs, including UV/H2O2, UV/peroxodisulfate (and peroxymonosulfate), UV/peracetic acid and UV/IO4- systems. Radical formation mechanism was also clarified based on EPR results. A reliable EPR method using organic solvents was proposed to identify alkoxy and alkyl radicals (CH3C(=O)OO center dot, CH3C(=O)O center dot and center dot CH3) in UV/PAA system. Two activation pathways for radical production were proposed in UV/IO4- system, in which the produced IO3 center dot, IO4 center dot, center dot OH and hydrated electron were precisely detected. It is interesting that addition of specific organic solvents can effectively identify oxygen-center and carbon-center radicals. A key parameter in EPR spectrum for 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO) spin adduct, AH, is ranked as: center dot CH3 (23 G) >center dot OH (15 G) >IO3 center dot (12.9 G) >O-2 center dot (11 G) >=center dot OOH (9-11 G) >= IO4 center dot (9-10 G) >= SO4 center dot- (9-10 G) >CH3C(=O)OO center dot (8.5 G) > CH3C(=O)O center dot (7.5 G). This study will give a systematic method on identification of radicals in AOPs, and shed light on the insightful understanding of radical production mechanism.

Automated summary

This study presented a comprehensive identification of radicals in four typical UV-based homogeneous AOPs using in-situ EPR analysis. The radical formation mechanism was clarified based on the EPR results. A reliable EPR method was proposed to identify alkoxy and alkyl radicals in the UV/PAA system, and the addition of specific organic solvents effectively identified oxygen-center and carbon-center radicals.