Effects of pH on the water solubility and 1-octanol-water partition coefficient of 2,4,6-tribromophenol

2,4,6-Tribromophenol (TBP) is expected to exist in both ionic and non-ionic forms in the environment due to ionisation of the phenolic group at near neutral pH. In this study, the water solubility (Sw) and 1-octanol-water partition coefficient (Kow) of aqueous solutions of TBP at various pH values were measured using the shake flask method. The ionisation resulted in increasing Sw and decreasing Kow by two to three orders of magnitude. From the experimental results, the environmental partitioning characteristics of TBP and the effect of pH on partitioning were discussed through a comparison with the properties of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBP-A), which has two phenolic groups. Furthermore, the pH dependence of Sw and Kow was represented using a Henderson-Hasselbalch type model and the validity of the model was evaluated. The model was found to be highly useful for predicting the pH dependence within the range of pH 3 to 9.