How a toxic pollutant avoids photodegradation: Relaxation pathways of UV-excited 2,4-dinitrophenol in aqueous solution.

ABSTRACT: Nitroaromatic compounds are pollutants emitted from biomass burning and fossil fuel combustion. They are a major component of brown carbon aerosols, affecting radiative forcing in the lower atmosphere. Among these species, 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) is toxic to both plants and animals and is resistant to photodegradation when dissolved in water, such as in aqueous atmospheric aerosols. To understand this environmental photostability of DNP, the photochemistry of near-UV excited DNP in aqueous solution is investigated using transient absorption spectroscopy and time-resolved infrared spectroscopy, seamlessly spanning fs - μs timescales to reveal the pathways following photoexcitation. Building upon our understanding of simpler nitroaromatic species, and using linear-response time-dependent den

SUBMITTER: Greene HJM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12358911 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature