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The relationship between molecular composition and fluorescence properties of humic substances

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Abstract

The quantity and quality of dissolved organic matters have been widely characterized by fluorescence spectroscopy, yet the relationship between the fluorescence properties of dissolved organic matters and its molecular composition remains poorly described in the literature. Here, we measured the fluorescence excitation–emission matrix of 17 well-characterized humic substance standards to determine a range of fluorescence parameters, including classical fluorescence indices (e.g., fluorescence index, biological index and humification index) and parameters derived from parallel factor analysis (e.g., component contribution). Relationships between humic substance’s fluorescence and compositional parameters were then statistically examined using canonical correspondence and simple correlation analyses. The canonical correspondence analysis generally suggested that most fluorescence parameters determined here are highly associated with the amount of aliphatic and aromatic compounds in humic substances. However, the correlation analysis between single molecular and fluorescence parameters indicated that the fluorescence properties of humic substances including the parallel factor analysis component contribution also significantly correlate well with several aspects of the molecular composition of humic substances, such as elemental composition, carbon species, acidic functional group and iron complexation. Overall, our results suggest that measurement of humic substance’s fluorescence is beneficial in understanding the molecular composition and environmental functions of dissolved organic matters in natural and engineered waters.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the financial supports from JST CREST and JSPS Young Scientists (A) (Grant Number: 25709045). The financial support from the Ministry of Environment, Japan (Environment Research and Technology Development Fund) (Grant Number: S-13-2-3) is also appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-M1-4 Ookayama, Tokyo, 152-8552, Japan

    M. Ateia, J. Ran, M. Fujii & C. Yoshimura

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  1. M. Ateia
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  2. J. Ran
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  3. M. Fujii
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  4. C. Yoshimura
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Correspondence to M. Fujii.

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Editorial responsibility: M. Abbaspour.

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Ateia, M., Ran, J., Fujii, M. et al. The relationship between molecular composition and fluorescence properties of humic substances. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 14, 867–880 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-016-1214-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-016-1214-x

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