The redox potential of DDT: An environmental perspective

The Redox Potential of DDT: An Environmental Perspective Anne Lewis1, Christopher Cramer2, and John Bumpus Department of Chemistry and the Environmental Sciences Program University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614 Department of Chemistry University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Due to their low water solubility, the reduction potentials of DDT and dicofol are difficult to determine experimentally. Through computational methods, we calculated the one and two electron reduction potentials for DDT as 0.51 V and 0.67 V, respectively, and those for dicofol were 0.50 V and 0.74 V. This study is significant because we are able to calculate reliable redox potentials that may be utilized to predict chemical behavior and degradation pathways of environmental pollutants. To assess the accuracy of theoretical chemistry, we compared experimental and computational data and examined whether our calculated redox potentials fit with the known redox behavior of DDT.