title: Photodegradation of CL-20: insights into the mechanisms of initial reactions and environmental fate.
abstract: Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (HNIW) or CL-20 is a caged structure polycyclic nitramine that may replace RDX and HMX as a common use energetic chemical. To provide insight into the environmental fate of CL-20 we photolyzed the chemical in a Rayonet photoreactor (254-350 nm) and with sunlight in aqueous solutions. Previously, we found that initial photodenitration of the monocyclic nitramine RDX leads to ring cleavage and decomposition. Presently, we found that photolysis of the rigid molecule CL-20 produced NO2-, NO3-, NH3, HCOOH, N2 and N2O. Using LC/MS (ES-) we detected several key intermediates carrying important information on the initial steps involved in the degradation of CL-20. The identities of the intermediates were confirmed using a uniformly ring labeled 15N-[CL-20]. When CL-20 was photolyzed in the presence of H2(18)O, D2O or 18O2 we obtained a product distribution suggesting that the energetic chemical degraded via at least two initial routes; one involved sequential homolysis of N-NO2 bond(s) and another involved photorearrangement prior to hydrolytic ring cleavage and decomposition in water.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Council of Canada, 6100 Royalmount Ave., Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4P 2R2. jalal.hawari@cnrc-nrc.gc.ca
authors.forename: Jalal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hawari
authors.forename: Stephane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deschamps
authors.forename: Chantale
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beaulieu
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Paquet
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Halasz
mesh_terms: D001372:Aza Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D006868:Hydrolysis; D010777:Photochemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: C482139:2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaaza-isowurtzitane; D001372:Aza Compounds; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical