Kinetics of the gas-phase reactions of chlorine atoms with naphthalene, acenaphthene, and acenaphthylene

Reactions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with chlorine atoms may occur in specific areas such as coastal regions and the marine boundary layer. In this work, rate constants for the gas-phase reactions of naphthalene, acenaphthene, and acenaphthylene with chlorine atoms have been measured using the relative rate technique. Experiments were performed at room temperature (293 ± 2 K) and atmospheric pressure in an atmospheric simulation chamber using a proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) to monitor the concentrations of PAHs and the reference compounds (acetone, methanol, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, and isoprene) as a function of time. The rate constants obtained in this work were (in units of cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1) (4.22 ± 0.46) × 10^-12, (3.01 ± 0.82) × 10^-10, and (4.69 ± 0.82) × 10 ^-10 for naphthalene, acenaphthene, and acenaphthylene, respectively. These are the first measurements of the rate constants for gas-phase reactions of Cl atoms with acenaphthene and acenaphthylene. The rate constant determined in this study for the reaction of naphthalene with Cl atoms is not in agreement with the only other previously reported value in the literature. The results are used to assess the potential role of chlorine atom reactions in the atmospheric oxidation of PAHs.