6533b872fe1ef96bd12d2e9f
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Gas-Phase Photolysis of Hg(I) Radical Species: A New Atmospheric Mercury Reduction Process
Daniel RiveroSebastian P. SitkiewiczDouglas E. KinnisonAlfonso Saiz-lopezTarek TrabelsiDaniel Roca-sanjuánJoseph S. FranciscoA. Ulises AcuñaCarlos A. CuevasJavier Carmona-garcíaJuan Z. Dávalossubject
Mercury cyclingAbsorption spectroscopyChemistryRadicalPhotodissociationAtmospheric mercurychemistry.chemical_elementGeneral Chemistry010402 general chemistryPhotochemistry01 natural sciences7. Clean energyBiochemistryCatalysis0104 chemical sciencesGas phaseMercury (element)Colloid and Surface Chemistry13. Climate actionGlobal distributiondescription
The efficient gas-phase photoreduction of Hg(II) has recently been shown to change mercury cycling significantly in the atmosphere and its deposition to the Earth's surface. However, the photolysis of key Hg(I) species within that cycle is currently not considered. Here we present ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra and cross-sections of HgCl, HgBr, HgI, and HgOH radicals, computed by high-level quantum-chemical methods, and show for the first time that gas-phase Hg(I) photoreduction can occur at time scales that eventually would influence the mercury chemistry in the atmosphere. These results provide new fundamental understanding of the photobehavior of Hg(I) radicals and show that the photolysis of HgBr increases atmospheric mercury lifetime, contributing to its global distribution in a significant way.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-05-22 |