To date, no report was concerned with participation of reactive oxygen species in waters during photolysis of low-brominated diphenyl ethers (LBDEs). Herein, we found that electron spin resonance (ESR) signals rapidly increased with increasing irradiation time in the solution of LBDEs and 4-oxo-TMP solutions. But this phenomenon did not occur in the presence of NaN3 (1O2 quencher) demonstrating generation of 1O2 in process of LBDEs photolysis. The indirect photolytic contribution rate for BDE-47 and BDE-28 was 18.8% and 17.3% via 1O2, and 4.9% and 6.6% via ·OH, respectively. Both D2O and NaN3 experiments proved that the indirect photolysis of LBDEs was primarily attributable to 1O2. The bimolecular reaction rate constants of 1O2 with BDE-47 and BDE-28 were 3.12 and 3.64 × 106 M-1 s-1, respectively. The rate constants for BDE-47 and BDE-28 (9.01 and 17.52 × 10-3 min-1), added to isopropyl alcohol, were very close to those (9.65 and 18.42 × 10-3 min-1) in water, proving the less indirect photolytic contribution of ·OH in water. This is the first comprehensive investigation examining the indirect photolysis of LBDEs in aqueous solution.
