Using torsional forces to explain the gradient temperature Raman spectra of endosulfan isomers and its irreversible isomerization

Since the 1950's, the broad-spectrum, organochlorine insecticide endosulfan (6,7,8, 9,10,10-hexachloro-1,5,5a,6,9,9a-hexahydro-6,9-methano-2,4,3-benzodioxathiepine-3-oxide) has been used on numerous crops. Due to its persistence, bioaccumulation, long-range transport, and adverse effects to human health and ecosystems, it was officially identified as a persistent organic pollutant (POP) in 2011. The last uses in the United States were phased out in 2016. Endosulfan consists of two diastereomers, α-endosulfan and β-endosulfan, and while the α-isomer exists as two asymmetrical, twist-chair enantiomers which interchange, the β-isomer is a symmetrical-chair conformation. In addition, the β-isomer was found to isomerize to the α-isomer. Gradient Temperature Raman Spectroscopy (GTRS) enables identification the molecular sites at which bending vibrational modes becomes twisting or wagging vibrational modes. Previous studies using GTRS and chemical calculations afforded evidence for specific bond movements and the irreversibility of the isomerization mechanism. However, not all of the vibrational modes observed in the spectra could be explained. Thus, new analyses of the GTRS data were conducted to examine the effects of torsional forces on the bond movement, which allowed for the identification of all the peaks. These newly-identified torsional forces provide further confirmation of the isomerization mechanism and its irreversibility. Finally, this isomerization explains why β-endosulfan is rarely detected in the atmosphere.