title: Identification and characterization of fenton oxidation products of surfactants by electrospray mass spectrometry and by solid phase microextraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry. 2. Fatty alcohol polyethoxy sulphates
abstract: The Fenton reaction for the degradation of surfactants has been investigated and partial degradation products have been identified and characterized by mass spectrometry for the case of fatty alcohol polyethoxy sulphates. The polar water-soluble products were investigated by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) with electrospray ionization (ESI), and the volatile products leaving the mixture during the reaction were trapped by means of solid phase microextraction (SPME) and investigated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with electron and chemical ionization. The oxidation leads to the formation of products with hydroxyl and epoxide groups due to insertion of oxygen atoms or with terminal ethoxylic moieties deriving from the loss of the hydrophilic sulphate group. The formation of volatile aldehydes is also observed, corresponding to the fragmentation between hydrocarbon and ethoxylic chains. The extent of mineralization is dependent on peroxide and iron(II) concentrations. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Centro di Studio del CNR per le Macromolecole Stereoordinate ed Otticamente Attive, Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Universita di Pisa, Via Risorgimento 35, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cuzzola
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raffaelli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saba
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Salvadori