In an earlier paper, the authors suggested that in the photochemical deterioration of wool, a portion of the sulfur is converted to hydrogen sulfide, some of which is subsequently oxidized to sulfuric acid. The present paper describes an apparatus which was developed for the purpose of segregating these reactions and testing the hypothesis. The results obtained with it show that in an atmosphere of purified nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide is evolved from wool during irradiation. In the presence of air the bulk of the hydrogen sulfide is oxidized to sulfuric acid. The rate of evolution of hydrogen sulfide is increased by the presence of moisture. The data suggest that the primary action of the radiation is an activation of the disulfide group, resulting in a change in the state of the sulfur. ' A secondary process, involving the evolution of hydrogen sulfide from the irradiated wool then occurs. Water does not appear to be essential to the process which involves changing the state of the sulfur, but it may play an important part in the secondary reactions.
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Harris et al. (1938) studied this question.