Specific method for the determination of ozone in the atmosphere

✍ Scribed by Sham L. Sachdev; J.P. Lodge Jr.; Philip W. West

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1972
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 555 KB
• Volume: 58
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0003-2670
• DOI: 10.1016/s0003-2670(00)86863-4

✦ Synopsis

Ozone is the principal oxidant in the photochemical smog and a detailed study of ozone toxicity in man has been-reported '. It is also considered to be the most damaging of all air pollutants affecting vegetation '. The natural occurrence of ozone and its formation in the urban atmospheres is well knownj.

Published methods for the determination of ozone involve a variety of analytical techniques such as chemical oxidation4-7, catalytic decomposition' '*I 2, absorption of ultraviolet light8-lo, of an olefinic bond1'-i8. chemiluminescence or fluorescence l 3.14, and cleavage Most of these methods are not specific for ozone, and they arc generally used for determinations of total oxidants. Others which are specific suffer from thedisadvantage that they arc complicated or require frequent calibration. Obviously the need for a simple, specific and reliable method for ozone is becoming critical.

The method presented here is based on the reaction of ozone with 4-allyl-2methoxyphenol (eugenol). This reaction has been found to be specific. Ozone preferentially attacks the olefinic bond in ally1 groups and releases formaldehyde.

Formaldehyde formed is determined by a slight modification of the West-Gaeke procedure' 9 for sulfur dioxide. EXPERIMENTAL Apparatus Gas samplerszO, midget impingers (MSA Catalog No. 46984). Air flow meters (Fisher and Porter Co., Catalog No. 450-015). Dyna-vat pump (Cole-Parmer, Catalog No. 7064). Beckman DB spectrophotometer.