Formation of methane sulfinic acid in the gas-phase OH-radical initiated oxidation of dimethyl sulfoxide.

Dimethyl sulfoxide (CH3S(O)CH3: DMSO) is an important product of dimethyl sulfide (CH3SCH3: DMS) photooxidation. The mechanism of the OH-radical initiated oxidation of DMSO is still highly uncertain and a major aim of recent studies has been to establish if methane sulfinic acid (CH3S(O)OH: MSIA) is a major reaction product In the present work the products of the OH-radical gas-phase oxidation of dimethyl sulfoxide have been investigated in the absence and presence of NOx All experiments were performed in a 1,080 L reaction chamber in 1,000 mbar synthetic air at 284 +/- 2 K using long-path FT-IR spectroscopy and ion chromatography to monitor and quantify reactants and reaction products. Formation of methane sulfinic acid in high yield (80-99%) was observed in both in the absence and presence of NOx, and the results support that it is the major primary reaction product Other products observed included dimethyl sulfone (CH3S(O)2CH3: DMSO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), methane sulfonic acid (CH3S(O)2OH: MSA), and methane sulfonyl peroxynitrate (CH3S(O)2OONO2: MSPN). The formation behavior of these products is in line with their source being mainly secondary production via oxidation of a primary product, i.e. MSIA.