Photolysis of pure solid O3 and O2 films at 193 nm

Abstract

We studied quantitatively the photochemistry of solid O(3) and O(2) films at 193 nm and 22 K with infrared spectroscopy and microgravimetry. Photolysis of pure ozone destroyed O(3), but a small amount of ozone remained in the film at high fluence. Photolysis of pure O(2) produced O(3) in an amount that increased with photon fluence to a stationary level. For both O(2) and O(3) films, the O(3):O(2) ratio at large fluences is ∼0.07, about two orders of magnitude larger than those obtained in gas phase photolysis. This enhancement is attributed to the increased photodissociation of O(2) due to photoabsorption by O(2) dimers, a process significant at solid-state densities. We obtain initial quantum yield for ozone synthesis from solid oxygen, Φ(O(3)) = 0.24 ± 0.06, and quantum yields for destruction of O(3) and O(2) in their parent solids, Φ(-O(3)) = 1.0 ± 0.2 and Φ(-O(2)) = 0.36 ± 0.1. Combined with known photoabsorption cross sections, we estimate probabilities for geminate recombination of 0.5 ± 0.1 for O(3) fragments and 0.88 ± 0.03 for oxygen atoms from O(2) dissociation. Using a single parameter kinetic model, we deduce the ratio of reaction cross sections for an O atom with O(2) vs. O(3) to be 0.1-0.2. The general good agreement of the model with the data suggests the validity of the central assumption of efficient energy and spin relaxation of photofragments in the solid prior to their reactions with other species.