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Free chlorine and free bromine ( e.g. , HOCl and HOBr) are employed as disinfectants in a variety of aqueous systems, including drinking water, wastewater, ballast water, recreational waters, and cleaning products. Yet, the most widely used methods for quantifying free halogens, including those employing N , N -diethyl- p -phenylenediamine (DPD), cannot distinguish between HOCl and HOBr. Herein, we report methods for selectively quantifying free halogens in a variety of aqueous systems using 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene (TMB). At near-neutral pH, TMB reacted on the order of seconds with HOCl, HOBr, and inorganic bromamines to yield halogenated products that were readily quantified by liquid chromatography or, following liquid–liquid extraction, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The chlorinated and brominated products of TMB were stable, and their molar concentrations were used to calculate the original concentrations of HOCl (method quantitation limit (MQL) by GC-MS = 15 nmol L −1 = 1.1 μg L −1 as Cl 2 ) and HOBr (MQL by GC-MS = 30 nmol L −1 = 2 μg L −1 as Cl 2 ), respectively. Moreover, TMB derivatization was efficacious for quantifying active halogenating agents in drinking water, pool water, chlorinated surface waters, and simulated spa waters treated with 1-bromo-3-chloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin. TMB was also used to quantify bromide as a trace impurity in 20 nominally bromide-free reagents (following oxidation of bromide by HOCl to HOBr). Several possible interferents were tested, and iodide was identified as impeding accurate quantitation of HOCl and HOBr. Overall, compared to the DPD method, TMB can provide lower MQLs, larger linear ranges, and selectivity between HOCl and HOBr. 

Sodium sulfite, sodium thiosulfate, and ascorbic acid are commonly used to quench free chlorine and free bromine in studies of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in drinking water, wastewater, and recreational water. The reducing capabilities of these quenchers, however, can lead to the degradation of some redox-labile analytes. Ammonium chloride, another common quencher, converts free chlorine into monochloramine and is therefore inappropriate for analytes susceptible to chloramination. Herein, we demonstrate the utility of 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene (TMB) as a quencher of free chlorine and free bromine. The reactivity of TMB toward free chlorine was characterized previously. The reactivity of TMB toward free bromine was quantified herein ( k HOBr,TMB = 3.35 × 10 6 M −1 s −1 ) using competition kinetics. To explore the feasibility of TMB serving as a free halogen quencher for kinetic experiments, chlorination of 2,4-dichlorophenol, bromination of anisole, and chlorination and bromination of dimethenamid-P were examined. Although TMB does not react with free chlorine or free bromine as quickly as do some (but not all) traditional quenchers, there was generally no significant difference in the experimental rate constants with TMB (relative to thiosulfate) as the quencher. By monitoring the chlorination and bromination products of TMB, free halogen residuals in quenched samples were quantified. Furthermore, TMB did not affect the stabilities of DBPs ( e.g. , chloropicrin and bromoacetonitriles) that otherwise degraded in the presence of traditional quenchers. TMB could, therefore, be an appropriate quencher of free chlorine and free bromine in aqueous halogenation experiments involving redox-labile analytes and/or when selective quantification of residual free halogens is desired.