LAUSR

Enols are an important group of photochemical precursors of atmospheric carbonyl compounds. However, the transformation mechanism is not fully understood. In this study, the photo-induced transformation of a typical enol, allyl alcohol, to carbonyl compounds on TiO2 (P25) and aluminum reduced TiO2 (P25, rutile and anatase TiO2) were investigated. Intermediate results confirmed that a total of seven carbonyl compounds, including four monocarbonyl compounds (acetone, glycolaldehyde, 1,3-dihydroxyacetone and acrolein) and three dicarbonyl compounds (glyoxal, methylglyoxal and dimethylglyoxal), were formed on studied TiO2. This is the first time to report the transformation of allyl alcohol to dicarbonyl compounds on TiO2. The same byproducts formation indicated negligible effects of reduction treatment and crystal phase to the composition of carbonyl intermediates. However, the relative content ratio of dicarbonyl compounds to monocarbonyl ones on reduced P25 is ca. 4.1 times higher than that on P25, suggesting reduction treatment significantly accelerated the transformation of allyl alcohol or monocarbonyl compounds to dicarbonyl ones. Furthermore, both rutile and anatase crystal phases were found beneficial for the dicarbonyl compounds generation within enough reaction time, especially for anatase. The enhanced •OH was responsible for all accelerations. Furthermore, the intermediate results together with quantum chemical calculations confirmed that •OH addition and O2 oxidation preferred converting allyl alcohol to dicarbonyl compounds rather than monocarbonyl ones. The present work could provide a deep insight into the transformation of allyl alcohol to carbonyl compounds, and efficiently replenish atmospheric transformation fate of enols.