The photochemistry of p-aminobenzoic acid

We have studied the photoreactions occurring when p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), a component of some sunscreens, is irradiated in aqueous solution. These studies were carried out in the presence and absence of oxygen, using light of lambda = 254 nm as well as light of wavelengths greater than 290 nm. In deoxygenated solution between pH 7.5 and 11.0, we found two photoproducts that were identified as 4-(4'-aminophenyl)aminobenzoic acid (I) and 4-(2'-amino-5'-carboxyphenyl)aminobenzoic acid (V); we used 1H and 13C NMR, electron impact mass spectrometry and synthesis by an independent route to identify each of these compounds. Rapid discoloration of the photolyzed sample was observed when PABA was irradiated in aerated solution. Although a number of products were detected under these conditions, the three most abundant stable compounds have been isolated and identified as 4-amino-3-hydroxybenzoic acid, 4-aminophenol and 4-(4'-hydroxyphenyl)aminobenzoic acid (IV). The latter compound was shown to result from rapid photo-induced oxidation of I in the presence of oxygen. Even in the presence of trace amounts of oxygen, the yield of I was significantly reduced in favor of IV. Studies of the thermal oxidation of I, coupled with evidence gathered from studies of the photochemistry of incompletely deoxygenated PABA solutions, indicate that 4-(2,5-cyclohexadien-4-one)iminobenzoic acid (III) is an intermediate on the pathway between I and IV. Qualitatively, we found that the photochemical reactions resulting from irradiation of PABA solutions with lambda = 254 nm light and light with lambda greater than 290 nm were the same. The quantum yields for formation of I and V are highly pH dependent, both being less than 10(-4) at pH 7 and rising steadily to values greater than 10(-3) at pH 11. The detailed pH dependence suggests that the deprotonated PABA radical cation may be an important intermediate entering into the reactions forming I and IV.