Correlations between Dissolved Organic Matter Optical Properties and Quantum Yields of Singlet Oxygen and Hydrogen Peroxide

Various aquatic dissolved organic matter (DOM) samples produce singlet oxygen (1O2) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) with quantum yields of 0.59 to 4.5% (1O2 at 365 nm) and 0.017 to 0.053% (H2O2, 300-400 nm integrated). The two species' yields have opposite pH dependencies and strong, but opposite, correlations with the E2/E3 ratio (A254 divided by A365). Linear regressions allow prediction of both quantum yields from E2/E3 in natural water samples with errors ranging from -3% to 60%. Experimental evidence and kinetic calculations indicate that less than six percent of the H2O2 is produced by reaction between 1O2 and DOM. The inverse relationship between the 1O2 and H2O2 yields is thus best explained by a model in which precursors to these species are populated competitively. A model is presented, which proposes that important precursors to H2O2 may be either charge-transfer or triplet states of DOM.