Abstract
The photochemical formation of hydrogen peroxide in tryptophan solutions and natural waters was monitored by a sensitive spectrophotometric assay. Peroxide was characterized by ion exchange properties and mobility via thin-layer chromatography. Tryptophan photodecomposed in sunlight or near ultraviolet light (λ > 283 nm) with the formation of uncharacterized, acidic photoproducts and hydrogen peroxide; other oxidants (i.e. organic peroxides) were not detected in tryptophan photolysis mixtures. After brief exposure to sunlight, hydrogen peroxide in natural waters varied from below the detection limit (1.5μM) to 6.8μM; in highly eutrophic samples peroxide was formed in excess of 30μM. A humic acid soil extract, tyrosine, and several aromatic compounds including substituted phenols and anilines also generated stable photochemical oxidants suggesting that many compounds may serve as sources for hydrogen peroxide in natural waters.
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