Mechanism of photochemical reduction of chromium(VI) by alcohols and its environmental aspects

The idea of photochemical abatement of the Cr(VI) pollution has been verified by investigating the photoreduction mediated by aliphatic alcohols under conditions mimicking the environmental ones. Effects of the alcohol nature, pH and presence of oxygen are analysed. The time-resolved spectra are used to follow the generation of the transient chromium Cr(V), Cr(IV) and Cr(II) species and the R1R2CHOH+ radicals. A direct interaction between chromate(VI) and an electron donor is a precondition of the photoreduction via the photoinduced electron transfer (PET). Two pathways of the PET are identified: one-electron transfer for intermolecular and two-electron transfer for the intramolecular systems. In the case of the alcohol mediators the option is pH-controlled.