Investigations on the Photoreactions of Nitrate and Nitrite Ions with Selected Azaarenes in Water

Results are presented from a study in which the influence of the molecular structure of azaarenes on the yield of oxidation, nitration, and nitrosation products was examined, along with the environmental relevance of the reactions. A high-pressure mercury lamp was used to assess the photoreactions of azaarenes at concentrations ranging 0.01 1.0 mM to which nitrate and nitrite concentrations in 10 and 100 molar excess were applied. The main reaction products were found to be the nitrated isomers of azaarenes. Nitrogen oxides were implicated in the formation of these isomers. In the presence of nitrite ions, oxidized and nitrated products were formed from the photoreactions, but no nitroso products were detected.