 | This is a user sandbox of Krcomo. You can use it for testing or practicing edits. This is not the sandbox where you should draft your assigned article for a dashboard.wikiedu.org course. To find the right sandbox for your assignment, visit your Dashboard course page and follow the Sandbox Draft link for your assigned article in the My Articles section. |
BPA’s main method of natural weathering in the environment is photodegradation via the Photo Fries reaction. Experimentally, BPA has been shown to photodegrade in reactions catalyzed by ZnO, TiO2, and SnO2 as methods of water decontamination procedures.[1]. The Photo Fries degradation is a complex rearrangement of the aromatic carbonate backbone of BPA into phenylsalicate and dihydroxybenzophenone derivatives before the energized ring releases carbon dioxide. In aqueous solution, BPA shows UV absorption with wavelengths between 250 and 360 nm, and the Photo Fries degradation occurs at wavelengths less than 300 nm [2]. The reaction begins by an alpha cleavage between the carbonyl carbon and the oxygen in the carbonate linkage, with the subsequent Photo Fries rearrangement of the products [3]. The mechanism of the photodegradation of BPA by Photo Fries is shown below: