Ma. Nanny et al., NONCOVALENT INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ACENAPHTHENONE AND DISSOLVED FULVIC-ACID AS DETERMINED BY C-13 NMR T-1 RELAXATION MEASUREMENTS, Environmental science & technology, 31(2), 1997, pp. 530-534
Non-covalent interactions between C-13-labeled acenaphthenone (C-13-la
beled in the carbonyl position) and Suwannee River fulvic acid in a me
thanol/D2O solvent have been examined using C-13 NMR T-1 relaxation me
asurements. The influence of solvents upon the non-covalent interactio
ns were assessed by examining acenaphthenone in pure solvents of varyi
ng solvation capacity (chloroform, methanol, methanol/D2O). Interactio
ns with fulvic acid were examined as a function of acenaphthenone and
fulvic acid concentrations, fulvic acid counter-cation (H+ or Na+), an
d pH. In the presence of fulvic acid in a methanol/D2O solvent, three
non-covalent interactions were identified: a weak sorption interaction
between acenaphthenone and fulvic acid, an enhanced solubilization of
acenaphthenone by fulvic acid, and an interaction between just the so
lvent and acenaphthenone. The enhanced solubilization is hypothesized
to arise from fulvic acid forming hydrophobic regions that are predomi
nantly solvated with methanol and have excluded water. Acenaphthenone
in these hydrophobic regions displays similar behavior to when It is d
issolved in pure methanol. The ability of fulvic acid to form hydropho
bic regions was found to be dependent upon the identity of the fulvic
acid counter-cation and upon pH.