Photochemical Production of Carbon Monoxide from Dissolved Organic Matter: Role of Lignin Methoxyarene Functional Groups.

ABSTRACT: Carbon monoxide (CO) is the second most abundant identified product of dissolved organic matter (DOM) photodegradation after CO₂, but its formation mechanism remains unknown. Previous work showed that aqueous photodegradation of methoxy-substituted aromatics (ArOCH₃) produces CO considerably more efficiently than aromatic carbonyls. Following on this precedent, we propose that the methoxy aromatic groups of lignin act as the C source for the photochemical formation of CO from terrestrial DOM via a two-step pathway: formal hydrolytic demethylation to methanol and methanol oxidation to CO. To test the reasonableness of this mechanism, we investigated the photochemistry of eight lignin model compounds. We first observed that initial CO production rates are positively cor

SUBMITTER: Ossola R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9494748 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature