Hydroxyl Radical, Singlet Oxygen, and Oxidized Product Formation in Photoaged Quinones and Combustion-derived Particles

Data sets used for the study 'The Photochemistry of Quinones and Combustion-derived Particles in Forming Hydroxyl Radicals and Singlet Oxygen in the Atmosphere' by Desiree J. Sarmiento and Dr. Brian J. Majestic from the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, USA. These sets include HPLC data for determining hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen concentrations observed from the photoaging of combustion-derived particles (CDPs), quinones, and anthracene in the aqueous phase; HPLC data for the product formation in photoaged 1,4-naphthoquinone (1,4-NAPQ) and photoaged juglone; and GC-MS data of photoaged 1,4-anthraquinone (1,4-ANTQ) and 1,4-NAPQ samples. The CDP samples investigated in this work are hexane CDPs (hx-CDP), ethanol-hx-CDPs (EtOH-hx-CDPs), and iron pentacarbonyl-hx-CDPs (Fe(CO)5-hx-CDPs). The hydroxyl radical concentration per particle mass and the singlet oxygen concentration per particle (See Steps to reproduce) were plotted over the photolysis time to visualize the formation behavior of these species over the course of the photoaging of CDPs, quinones, and anthracene. Files of the MATLAB Curve Fitter results that describe these plots are also provided. All the data obtained support my hypothesis that in sunlit, cloud-water environments, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are byproducts from incomplete combustion, can oxidize into photosensitizers (light-absorbing compounds that undergo excitation to the singlet and triplet states). These photosensitizers can then partake in radical reactions to form singlet oxygen and catalyze hydroxyl radicals, which result in excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the atmosphere.