Natural dissolved organic matter (NDOM) is a variable and highly complex mixture of organic compounds and is found in all aquatic ecosystems on Earth. NDOM is known to affect many biogeochemical phenomena via complicated and oftentimes poorly-understood physicochemical processes, many of which are highly dependent on the molecular size distribution and aggregation of NDOM constituents. In this research, we determine the apparent molecular weight distribution of Suwannee River natural organic matter (SROM), a well-characterized reference material extracted by and purchased from the International Humic Substances Society. We show how the experimental average molecular weight (AMW) is affected by solid phase extraction (SPE) of a prepared aqueous sample of SROM. The SPE sorbants that were tested were C18 and PPL, both of which are used extensively in the literature to extract and characterize NDOM from various aquatic environments. Furthermore, we report the dependence of AMW on the NDOM concentration of analyzed sample. This work thus clarifies how the molecular weight distribution of an extracted NDOM sample may be influenced by the extraction process itself.

Effects of solid-phase extraction on the molecular weight distribution of natural dissolved organic matter as determined by high pressure size exclusion chromatography

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.