The use of household bleach cleaning products results in emissions of highly oxidative gaseous species, such as hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and chlorine (Cl2), that react readily with volatile organic compounds and have the potential to participate in reactions on indoor relevant surfaces. Using transmission Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, we show that silica (SiO2), a proxy for window glass, and titanium dioxide (TiO2), a component of paint and self-cleaning surfaces, act as a reservoir for gas-phase products between HOCl/Cl2 and limonene, a common indoor organic compound emitted from terpene cleaning products. Adsorption and desorption of bleach and terpene oxidation products show that they interact with both SiO2 and TiO2 surfaces via hydrogen-bonding with the isolated hydroxyl groups and continue to stick on these surfaces for several hours. Transformation of surface products over time was observed. Additionally, exposure of indoor relevant surfaces with HOCl/Cl2 and limonene in an environmental Teflon chamber along with identification of extracted surface products by high-resolution mass spectrometry also suggests that surface-catalyzed reactions can occur, leading to the formation of new chlorine and oxygen-containing products.

Mechanistic study of surface-initiated reactions of household bleach and terpene cleaning products on indoor relevant surfaces

ACS Spring 2022

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