Abstract
Inorganic and organic arsenic compounds in nature are methylated by biological action and released into the air, forming trimethylar-sine and dimethylarsine1–5. These compounds are oxidized in the air to dimethylarsinic acid and trimethylarsineoxide6 and exist as particles7,8. In this study, we examine seasonal variations of methylarsenic compounds in airborne particulate matter to try to understand the characteristics of the methylation of arsenic in nature. In summer a high concentration of dimethyl and trimethyl forms of arsenic was observed, while in winter the levels were very low. This seasonal variation can be attributed to the different temperatures of the environment during these seasons. The activation energy of methylation of arsenic was estimated to be ∼12 kcal mol−1 from Arrhenius plots and can be used to predict the behaviour of these methylarsenic compounds, which are considered to form an important portion of the arsenic present in airborne particulate matter.
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Mukai, H., Ambe, Y., Muku, T. et al. Seasonal variation of methylarsenic compounds in airborne participate matter. Nature 324, 239–241 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/324239a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/324239a0
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