A large fraction of the dissolved amino-N in natural
waters and wastewaters is contained in amide groups,
for example, in proteins. Whether this N pool reacts with
and modifies the chemical behavior of chlorine during
water disinfection is unclear. To investigate this issue, water-suppressed, proton NMR spectra have been obtained for
aqueous, acetylated glycine, alanine, and alanylalanylalanine
before and after treatment with NaOCl at near-neutral
pH. N-Chlorination of N-acetylglycine (aceturic acid) induced
cis−trans rotation about the amide bond at ambient
temperature. N-Bound Cl+ induced a measurable downfield
chemical shift in the acetyl methyl resonance in N-acetylglycine, ∂δ = 0.15 ppm (cis) and ∂δ = 0.3 ppm (trans),
and in N-acetylalanine methyl resonances, acetyl methyl
∂δ = 0.3 ppm (trans) and side chain methyl ∂δ = 0.2 ppm.
Chlorination of N-acetylalanylalanylalanine produced ∂δ
values similar to N-acetylalanine. The spectral effects were
reversible, the original spectra being regenerated upon
dechlorination with sulfite. Negligible substrate decomposition
was observed. Rate constants for chlorination of
N-acetylalanine near neutral pH are k
f = 1.58 × 10-3 M-1
s-1 and k
b = 7.57 × 10-7 s-1 where K
eq = 2.1 × 103.
Because of both sluggish formation kinetics and an
unfavorable equilibrium constant, N-chloramides are
predicted to be unimportant under typical disinfection
conditions.