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Explore the chemistry of the atmosphere, including the formation and destruction of ozone, reactions involving radicals, and the impact of urban air pollution. Discover how organic compounds and oxidants interact with sunlight and water to form haze and pollutants. Learn about the harmful effects of carbon monoxide and sulfuric acid.
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Midterm Matters • any appeals regarding the test must be communicated to Dr. Gentleman by THURSDAY, NOVEMEBER 4 • dgentlem@utsc.utoronto.ca Next week: Lab #4
What’s coming up??? • Oct 25 The atmosphere, part 1 Ch. 8 • Oct 27 Midterm … No lecture • Oct 29 The atmosphere, part 2 Ch. 8 • Nov 1 Light, blackbodies, Bohr Ch. 9 • Nov 3 Postulates of QM, p-in-a-box Ch. 9 • Nov 5,8 Hydrogen atom Ch. 9 • Nov 10,12 Multi-electron atoms Ch.10 • Nov 15 Periodic properties Ch. 10 • Nov 17 Periodic properties Ch. 10 • Nov 19 Valence-bond; Lewis structures Ch. 11 • Nov 22 Hybrid orbitals; VSEPR Ch. 11, 12 • Nov 24 VSEPR Ch. 12 • Nov 26 MO theory Ch. 12 • Nov 29 MO theory Ch. 12 • Dec 1 Putting it all together • Dec 2 Review for exam
More about our atmosphere • Last time we discussed some aspects of stratospheric chemistry • This is mostly all about ozone • Today we will look at some chemistry which happens in the troposphere (below about 12 km altitude)
Solar illumination on earth Pretty much all the energy which drives the earth comes as radiation from the sun Light absorbed by ozone in ozone layer
In the troposphere most chemistry starts with ozone and UV light … and often ends with CO2 For example, oxidation of methane, whose balanced equation is: CH4 + 2 O2 CO2 + 2 H2O O3 + UV O* + O2 O* + H2O 2 OH OH + CH4 H2O + CH3 CH3 + O2 CH3OO CH3OO + NO NO2 + CH3O CH3O + O2 HCHO + HO2 HCHO + UV + 2O2 2HO2+ CO CO + OH + O2 CO2 + HO2 NO2+ UV NO + O O + O2 O3 HO2+ NO NO2 + OH
Interesting note: the role of NO and NO2 in the troposphere is quite different from in the stratosphere. At lower altitudes, there is not the correct UV radiation (not enough energy, since it’s already been absorbed higher up!!)to form O atoms from O2 … tropospheric O (and so O3) is formed from NO2 Stratosphere O2 + UV O + O O + O2 O3 NO + O3 NO2 + O2 O +NO2 NO + O2 Troposphere NO2+ UV NO + O O + O2 O3 NO + O3 NO2 + O2 HO2+ NO NO2 + OH
So we see that NO reacts with radicals to make NO2, which reacts with sunlight and oxygen to make ozone • Ozone reacts with sunlight and water to make hydroxyl radicals (OH) • Hydroxyl radicals react with most substances to make oxidized products • These reactions all involve formation and destruction of free radicals… they are examples of chain reactions
O3 + UV O* + O2 O* + H2O 2 OH OH + CH4 H2O + CH3 CH3 + O2 CH3OO CH3OO + NO NO2 + CH3O CH3O + O2 HCHO + HO2 HCHO + UV + 2O2 2HO2+ CO CO + OH + O2 CO2 + HO2 Radicals! The radical chains are broken by reactions which form products such as nitric acid and PAN: OH + NO2 HNO2 CH3COO + NO2 PAN
The NO comes from the reaction of N2 with O2 at high temperatures: • N2 + O2 2 NO DH0f(NO) = + 90.2 kJ/mol (what would le Chatalier say?) • Cars, trucks, buses, etc. • Power plants and factories • Lightning • Hydrocarbons (such as methane) come from transport, power plants, ruminant animals, rice paddies, trash dumps, …
Urban air pollution involves the same chemistry as we just saw, but more intense • The timing of photochemical smog generally tracks rush hours, and requires sunlight and warm enough (> 180 C) temperatures
Emitted from cars Formed from NO + radicals Formed from NO2 + light Formed from NO2 + radicals
We can help reduce such air pollution by using better engine designs and technology
Urban films -grime on windows Particles -soot, PM2.5 H2O Air pollution NOx O3 Organics H2O OH Chemistry affects all aspects of the lifetimes and fates of pollution compounds.
For example, the uptake of water by organic particles to form haze on a polluted summer day: the oxidation state matters! Increasing O : C ratio
Oleic acid, and similar fatty acid compounds, are present in animal and plant cells. These compounds are observed in atmospheric particles due to ablation from leaves and from cooking
Water uptake by oleic acid before and after oxidation by ozone CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7COOH After exposure Before exposure
Amber Asad ( a UTSC student) measuring how water is sorbed by oleic acid
And the result … Organic compounds + Oxidants (ozone, OH, …) + Water + Sunlight
We saw how organic carbon (ie- methane) is transformed to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Note that CO is formed, along the way. • Carbon monoxide is also a product of “incomplete combustion”, in much the same types of process as we saw earlier. • CO is problematic because it is a poison to oxygen-breathers like us. The way in which oxygen is transported in the blood is by binding to haemoglobin – a molecule in our red blood cells. It turns out that CO is better at binding to haemoglobin, so oxygen is blocked.
Sulfuric acid is another important atmospheric molecule: it is a primary source of acid rain (along with nitric acid, which we saw before) and, because it is very, very hygroscopic, it acts as a condensation site for water vapour • H2SO4 is formed in the atmosphere by the oxidation of sulfur-containing compounds (mostly from biological processes) to SO2, then to the acid • SO2 is a product of combustion and also is emitted by volcanoes
Once formed, SO2 reacts in the atmosphere: • SO2 + OH HSO3 • HSO3 + O2 HO2 + SO3 • SO3 + H2O H2SO4 • The sulfuric acid may be in the gas phase (where it will form water droplets) or dissolved already • Acid rain in this part of North America is mostly this acid
Apart from air pollution, human introduction of hydrocarbons and their oxidation products into the atmosphere affects the carbon cycle
These compounds, especially ones such as carbon dioxide, methane and halocarbons, can influence the heat balance in the troposphere by absorbing heat radiation (infrared light) emitted from the earth (“global warming”). The earth’s surface is warm enough to sustain life because of a greenhouse effect due to water vapour and some CO2. By increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases, we are altering this effect
Most of the observed warming in the past 50 years is attributable to human activities