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Towards a Molecular Level Understanding of the Sulfanilamide-Soil Organic Matter-Interaction

In-depth understanding of the sorption mechanisms of organic pollutants, like the antibiotic sulfanilamide (SAA), in soil requires a combined experimental and theoretical approach. Therefore, sorption experiments of SAA on well-characterized samples of soil size-fractions were combined with the modeling of SAA-soil-interaction via quantum chemical calculations. Freundlich unit capacities were determined in batch experiments and it was found that they increase with the soil organic matter (SOM) content according to the order fine silt > medium silt > clay > whole soil > coarse silt > sand. The calculated binding energies for mass-spectrometrically quantified sorption sites followed the order ionic species > peptides > carbohydrates > phenols and lignin monomers > lignin dimers > heterocyclic compounds > fatty acids > sterols > aromatic compounds > lipids, alkanes, and alkenes. SAA forms H-bonds through its different polar centers with polar SOM sorption sites. In contrast dispersion and π-π-interactions predominate the interaction of the sulfonamide aromatic ring with the non-polar moieties of SOM. Moreover, the dipole moment, partial atomic charges, and molecular volume of the SOM sorption sites are the main physical properties controlling the SAA-SOM-interaction. The correlation between experimental and theoretical results was established by reasonable estimates of the Freundlich unit capacities from the calculated binding energies. Consequently, we suggest using this approach in forthcoming studies to disclose the interactions of a wide range of organic pollutants with SOM.