Volatile organic compound

VOCs are found in many things, including glue, new car interiors, house mold, and upholstered furniture, trees, sea weed.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature.[1] They are common and exist in a variety of settings and products, not limited to house mold, upholstered furniture, arts and crafts supplies, dry cleaned clothing, and cleaning supplies.[2] VOCs are responsible for the odor of scents and perfumes as well as pollutants. They play an important role in communication between animals and plants, such as attractants for pollinators, protection from predation, and even inter-plant interactions.[3][4][5] Some VOCs are dangerous to human health or cause harm to the environment, often despite the odor being perceived as pleasant, such as "new car smell".[6]

Anthropogenic VOCs are regulated by law, especially indoors, where concentrations are the highest. Most VOCs are not acutely toxic, but may have long-term chronic health effects. Some VOCs have been used in pharmaceutical settings, while others are the target of administrative controls because of their recreational use. The high vapor pressure of VOCs correlates with a low boiling point, which relates to the number of the sample's molecules in the surrounding air, a trait known as volatility.[7]

  1. ^ Carroll, Gregory T. and Kirschman, David L. (2022-12-20). "A Peripherally Located Air Recirculation Device Containing an Activated Carbon Filter Reduces VOC Levels in a Simulated Operating Room". ACS Omega. 7 (50): 46640–46645. doi:10.1021/acsomega.2c05570. ISSN 2470-1343. PMC 9774396. PMID 36570243.
  2. ^ Association, American Lung. "Volatile Organic Compounds in the Home: The Surprising Places You Might Find Them". www.lung.org. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  3. ^ Pichersky, Eran; Gershenzon, Jonathan (2002). "The formation and function of plant volatiles: Perfumes for pollinator attraction and defense". Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 5 (3): 237–243. Bibcode:2002COPB....5..237P. doi:10.1016/S1369-5266(02)00251-0. PMID 11960742.
  4. ^ Kessler, André; Baldwin, Ian T. (2001). "Defensive Function of Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatile Emissions in Nature". Science. 291 (5511): 2141–2144. Bibcode:2001Sci...291.2141K. doi:10.1126/science.291.5511.2141. PMID 11251117.
  5. ^ Baldwin, I. T.; Halitschke, R.; Paschold, A.; von Dahl, C. C.; Preston, C. A. (2006). "Volatile Signaling in Plant-Plant Interactions: "Talking Trees" in the Genomics Era". Science. 311 (5762): 812–815. Bibcode:2006Sci...311..812B. doi:10.1126/science.1118446. PMID 16469918. S2CID 9260593.
  6. ^ Nexus, PNAS. "New car smell reaches toxic levels on hot days, researchers find". phys.org. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  7. ^ Koppmann, Ralf, ed. (2007). Volatile Organic Compounds in the Atmosphere. doi:10.1002/9780470988657. ISBN 9780470988657.