Theoretical study on the OH-initiated atmospheric reaction of N-methyl perfluorobutane sulfonamidoethanol (C4F9SO2N(CH3)CH2CH2OH)

N-methyl perfluorobutane sulfonamidoethanol (NMeFBSE), a new product of the 3M Company, is currently widely used in many countries and territories. It is prone to volatilize to the atmosphere where it can undergo long-range transport and chemical transformations. In this work, the reaction mechanism for the OH-initiated atmospheric oxidation of NMeFBSE was investigated. The geometrical parameters and vibrational frequencies of all of the stationary points were calculated at the MPWB1K level with the 6-31G+(d,p) basis set. Single-point energy calculations were carried out at the MPWB1K/6-311+G(3df,2p) level. The results indicate that the channel of the formation of C4F9 and HSO3N(CH3)CH2CH2OH resulting from OH addition to NMeFBSE and hydrogen abstractions from the −CH3 group in NMeFBSE are energetically favorable. The main degradation products include perfluorinated carboxylic acids (C3F7COOH, C2F5COOH, CF3COOH), HSO3N(CH3)CH2CH2OH, NMeFBSA (C4F9SO2NH(CH3)), C4F9SO2N(CH3)CH2CHO, and C4F9SO2N(CH3)CH2COOH. T...