Effect of an allophanic soil on humification reactions between catechol and glycine: Spectroscopic investigations of reaction products

Adduction of amino acids to phenols is a possible humification reaction pathway [F.J. Stevenson, Humus Chemistry: Genesis, Composition, Reaction, second ed., Wiley, New York, 1994, pp. 188–211; M.C. Wang, P.M. Huang, Sci. Total Environ. 62 (1987) 435; M.C. Wang, P.M. Huang, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 55 (1991) 1156; M.C. Wang, P.M. Huang, Geoderma 112 (2003) 31; M.C. Wang, P.M. Huang, Geoderma 124 (2005) 415]. To elucidate the reaction kinetics and products of abiotic humification, the effects of an allophanic soil on the adduction of amino acids to phenols were investigated using catechol (CT) and glycine (Gly) as a model phenol and amino acid, respectively. An aqueous solution containing CT and Gly (pH 7.0) in the presence of allophanic soil was incubated for 2 weeks, and the kinetics of the humification reactions were monitored by analysis of absorptivity at 600 nm (E600). A mixture of CT and Gly in the absence of allophanic soil was used as a control. The E600 value increased markedly in the presence of allophanic soil. In addition, unreacted CT was detected in the control reaction mixture, but not in the allophane-containing reaction mixture. Under the sterilized conditions, absorbance at 600 nm for the control reaction mixture was significantly smaller than that for the allophanic soil-containing reaction mixture, which indicates there was no microbial participation during incubation. These results indicate that the allophanic soil effectively facilitated humification reactions between CT and Gly. The reaction mixtures were acidified and humic-like acid (HLA) was isolated as a precipitate. The elemental composition, acidic functional group contents, molecular weight, FT-IR, solid-state CP-MAS 13C NMR, and 1H NMR spectra of the purified HLAs were analyzed. The results of these analyses indicate that the nitrogen atom of Gly binds to the aromatic carbon of CT in the HLA products.