Theoretical Study on the Mechanisms, Kinetics, and Toxicity Evaluation of OH-Initiated Atmospheric Oxidation Reactions of Coniferyl Alcohol

Abstract

In this paper, we investigated the mechanisms, kinetics, and toxicity evaluation of the OH-initiated reaction of coniferyl alcohol (4-(3-hydroxy-1-propenyl)-2-methoxyphenol) in the atmosphere using theoretical calculations. The initial reaction of coniferyl alcohol with OH radicals had two pathways, H-abstraction and OH-addition reactions. The total reaction rate constants were 2.32 × 10−9 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 (in gas-phase) and 9.44 × 109 s−1 M−1 (in liquid-phase) for the preliminary reactions of coniferyl alcohol with OH radicals at 298 K, respectively, and the half-lives of the total reaction (including all initial H-abstraction and OH-addition reactions) of coniferyl alcohol with OH radical in the atmosphere, urban and remote clouds were 8.3 × 10−2 h, 5.83 × 103 h and 9.27 × 102 h, respectively. The temperature had a strong and positive influence on the initial reaction rate constant. The branching ratios of H-abstraction and OH-addition reactions were 3.68% and 97.69%, respectively, making the OH-addition reactions become dominant reactions. The ecotoxicity evaluation revealed that the toxicity levels of coniferyl alcohol and its products were similar and non-toxic. However, all these products have developmental toxicity, with most of them having no mutagenicity. Therefore, further attention should be paid to the oxidation process and product toxicity evaluation of coniferyl alcohol in the atmosphere.