Quaternary Triphenylphosphonium Compounds: A New Class of Environmental Pollutants

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• 作者：Michael P. Schl眉sener ; Uwe Kunkel ; Thomas A. Ternes
• 刊名：Environmental Science & Technology
• 出版年：2015
• 出版时间：December 15, 2015
• 年：2015
• 卷：49
• 期：24
• 页码：14282-14291
• 全文大小：535K
• ISSN：1520-5851

文摘

A nontarget screening using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) was established to identify industrial emerging contaminants in the Rhine River. With this approach, quaternary triphenylphosphonium compounds (R-Ph₃P⁺) were identified as new emerging contaminants in the aquatic environment. The suggested chemical structures were elucidated by MS fragmentation and chemical databank searches and eventually confirmed via authentic standards. R-Ph₃P⁺ are used worldwide by the chemical industry to synthesize alkenes via the Wittig reaction. In total, five compounds [R = butyl (Bu), R = ethyl (Et), R = methoxymethyl (MeOMe), R = methyl (Me), and R = phenyl (Ph)] were found in German rivers and streams. R-Ph₃P⁺ were detected only in those rivers and streams that received an appreciable portion of wastewater from the chemical industry. Up to 2.5 渭g/L Et-Ph₃P⁺ was quantified in a small stream from the Hessian Ried, and in the Rhine, up to 0.56 渭g/L Me-Ph₃P⁺ was detected. R-Ph₃P⁺ were also identified in suspended particulate matter and sediments in the Rhine catchment, with MeOMe-Ph₃P⁺ concentrations of up to 0.75 mg/kg and up to 0.21 mg/kg, respectively. Because of the lack of ecotoxicological studies, the environmental risks caused by R-Ph₃P⁺ can be assessed for neither pelagic nor benthic organisms.