Photoalkylation of Inorganic Mercury in the Presence of Amino Acids. II. Photomethylation of Inorganic Mercury by Aliphatic α-Amino Acids

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Abstract
Solutions of DL-alanine, DL-valine, DL-leucine and DL-isoleucine in water containing HgCl2 were irradiated for 4 h by an 8W low-pressure mercury arc lamp. The alkylmercury (II) chlorides produced in the irradiated solutions were analyzed quantitatively by gas chromatography. Methylmercury unrelated to the alkyl residues in the .alpha.-amino acid was formed almost exclusively, but DL-leucine yielded an undetermined organomercury compound in addition to methylmercury. The use of a 20W blacklight lamp (300-400 nm) as a light source caused the formation of a much lower yield of methylmercury after irradiation for 150 or 300 h. A white solid deposited as the reaction proceeded showed some properties of a mercurous compound. Photolysis of glycine and phenylglycine did not yield alkylmercury compounds, indicating that the formation of methylmercury was due to the apparent fragmentation of the alkyl residues of the .alpha.-amino acid during photolysis.

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