Reaction of solid carrier-adsorbed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with gaseous low-concentrated nitrogen dioxide

The interaction of gaseous NO2 with solid carrier-adsorbed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was studied under laboratory conditions with a specific attention to factors that might possibly influence this reaction, such as type of carrier lighting conditions, NO2 concentration, exposure time, and temperature. At the NO2 concentration of 1.33 ppm there were detected the following nitro derivatives: nitroanthracene, nitropyrene, nitrochrysene, two mononitro derivatives of benzo/a/pyrene, and dinitrobenzo/a/pyrene. The experimental data suggest that the formation of nitroaromates in atmospheric environment is to be expected, provided that there are present, besides polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, also suitable types of sorbents, such as silica gel or fly ash.