“…NO 3
• , which is formed through reaction of the atmospheric pollutants nitrogen dioxide, NO 2
• , with ozone, O 3 (Scheme 1) [7–8], reacts with organic compounds through various pathways, such as hydrogen abstraction (HAT) and addition to π systems. Most importantly, NO 3
• is one of the strongest free-radical oxidants known [ E (NO 3
• /NO 3
− ) = 2.3–2.5 V vs NHE] [9], and recent product studies by us revealed that NO 3
• readily damages aromatic amino acids and pyrimidine nucleosides through an oxidative pathway [10–13]. Thus, the ease by which model compounds of biologically important macromolecules are attacked by NO 3
• leads inevitably to the question, how resistant synthetic polymers are towards oxidative damage by this environmental free-radical species, in particular in conjunction with other atmospheric radical and non-radical oxidants, which are in direct contact with these materials.…”