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Updated: Sep 19, 2025

Depolymerizable Olefinic Polymers Based on Fused-Ring Cyclooctene Monomers
Published on: December 16, 2022
Characterization of Key Intermediates and Products from the Ozonolysis of Styrene-Like Compounds
Shanshan Yu1, Shengrui Tong1, Meifang Chen1,2
1State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Stabilized Criegee intermediates (sCIs) are key reactive species in atmospheric chemistry. Styrene-like compounds are special aromatics, as they can react with the ozone to generate phenyl-substituted sCIs (C6H5CHOO), yet no prior study has directly characterized such sCIs. This study took styrene and trans-β-methylstyrene as proxies for styrene-like compounds. Matrix isolation combined with infrared spectroscopy technology was applied to capture anti- and syn-C6H5CHOO at 972 and 930 cm-1, respectively. Quantum chemical calculations enabled the identification of intermediates and verified the reactivity of sCIs' unimolecular decomposition and bimolecular reactions with water vapor. Besides the reported organic peroxy radical (RO2) + sCIs + hydroperoxy radical (HO2) reactions, oligomers formed via RO2 + sCIs + R'O2, HO2 + sCIs + HO2/R'O2, and highly oxygenated RO2 + sCIs + HO2/R'O2 reactions were also proposed based on chamber experiments. At higher relative humidity, C6H5CHOO-related oligomers emerged as the most prominent aerosol components. The insertion of C6H5CHOO units was found to dramatically reduce oligomer volatility and enhance oligomer toxicity. The lower susceptibility to removal by water vapor suggests more competitive particle generation and even nucleation involving C6H5CHOO, providing insights into urban air pollution mechanisms and the identification of toxic compounds in particles.
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