An unexpected chlorination of an organic sunscreen

Smith, Lydia G.; Di Leva, Dalila; Shaw, Lloyd A.; Hughes, Eric; Kenwright, Alan M.; Beeby, Andrew; Wilson, Mark R.; Mahon, Clare S.

doi:10.1039/d5cc01593f

An unexpected chlorination of an organic sunscreen

Smith, Lydia G.; Di Leva, Dalila; Shaw, Lloyd A.; Hughes, Eric; Kenwright, Alan M.; Beeby, Andrew; Wilson, Mark R.; Mahon, Clare S.

Authors

Lydia Laddie lydia.g.smith@durham.ac.uk
Intern

Dalila Di Leva dalila.di-leva@durham.ac.uk
PGR Student Doctor of Philosophy

Lloyd Shaw lloyd.shaw@durham.ac.uk
Postdoctoral Research Associate

Dr Eric Hughes eric.hughes@durham.ac.uk
Solution NMR Technician

Alan M. Kenwright

Professor Andrew Beeby andrew.beeby@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Professor Mark Wilson mark.wilson@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Professor Clare Mahon clare.mahon@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

The origin of intense red staining on fabrics contaminated by sunscreen and treated with bleach has been attributed to an unexpected dichlorination of a common UV filter. The structure of the chromophore has been determined by NMR spectroscopy, and the proposed mechanism of its formation is supported by DFT calculations.

Citation

Smith, L. G., Di Leva, D., Shaw, L. A., Hughes, E., Kenwright, A. M., Beeby, A., Wilson, M. R., & Mahon, C. S. (2025). An unexpected chlorination of an organic sunscreen. Chemical Communications, 61(51), 9314-9317. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cc01593f

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	May 20, 2025
Online Publication Date	May 21, 2025
Publication Date	Jun 28, 2025
Deposit Date	Jun 6, 2025
Publicly Available Date	Jun 6, 2025
Journal	Chemical Communications
Print ISSN	1359-7345
Electronic ISSN	1364-548X
Publisher	Royal Society of Chemistry
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	61
Issue	51
Pages	9314-9317
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cc01593f
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3968005