S Y L L A BU S D E T A I L S

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D.9.1 1,2

D.9

Ozone depletion (2h)

Explain the dependence of O2 and O3 dissociation on the wavelength of light.

The Lewis structures of O2 and O 3 are
O2

O3

O=O

O=OO OO=O

And they dissociate according to the following equations

uv

uv

O2 O + O

O3 O + O 2

It can be seen from the Lewis structures that between the two Os in O2 there is a double
bond, in O 3, however, the bond between the Os is a resonant single/double bond, which is
weaker than the double bond in O 2. Therefore O2 requires more energy in order to brake the
bond between the Os and to disassociate than O3. The energy they use is the UV light
coming from the sun. Its energy is given by the equation
E = hf
Where E is the energy, h is the planks constant and f is the frequency. But
f =1/
Where is the wavelength. The equation for the energy can now be rewritten to
E=h/
Thus the lower the wavelength of light the its higher the energy. Therefore it can be expected
that the light absorbed by O2 will have a lower wavelength than the light absorbed by O3. It
turns out that the exact values for the wavelengths are
O2

D.9.2 1,2

=212nm

O+O

O3

=330nm

O + O2

Describe the steps in the catalysis of O3 depletion by CFCs and NOx.

CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) are considered to be very dangerous gases, because they act as
catalyst in the stratosphere, helping in to dissociate ozone and leading to ozone depletion.
Because they act as catalysts they are not used up in the reactions and thus one CFC molecule
can dissociate thousands of ozone molecules. For example let us take the CFCl3. First, with
the help of UV light from the sun it dissociates to produce a free radial, a Cl atom.
uv

CFCl 3 CFCl2 + Cl
Then the radical Cl dissociates an O3 molecule.
Cl + O3 ClO + O2
The ClO molecule then reacts with an O atom to form a Cl radical again.
ClO + O Cl + O2
The Cl atom can then dissociate another ozone molecule. The nitric oxide acts as a catalyst in
a very similar way to a Cl atom. First it dissociates an O3 molecule.
NO + O3 NO2 + O2

Michael Holenderski, March 2000

S Y L L A BU S D E T A I L S

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And then NO2 radical reacts with an O atom to form a NO radical again.
NO2 + O NO + O2

D.9.3 1,2,3 Discuss the basis for greater ozone depletion in polar regions.
The level of ozone depletion in polar regions varies with seasons. During the southern winter,
the air over Antarctica is cut off from the rest of the atmosphere by strong winds which
sweep around the continent. They act as a wall isolating the Antarctic air from the outside
world. Behind the wall the temperature of air in the stratosphere reaches 90C which gives
rise to the formation of clouds made of icy particles. These particles act as catalysts allowing
reactions to take place on their surface, which produce ClO particles. These ClO particles
then react to form (ClO)2
ClO + ClO (ClO)2
Note that this reaction does not require any activation energy and thus will occur during the
southern winter. This gives rise to a build up of (ClO)2 during winter. When the sunlight
arrives, it triggers the following reaction
uv

(ClO)2 ClOO + Cl
which releases a Cl radical, which dissociates ozone according to the reactions in D.9.2.
ClOO then reacts further to form another radical
ClOO + M Cl + O2 + M
The M molecule stands for any particle and is used here in order to satisfy the law of
conservation of energy and momentum.

D.9.4 1,2,3 Discuss the properties required for sun-screening compounds

Ozone protects us from the dangerous UV light and because of the ozone depletion, there is
less and less ozone to protect us. Therefore we have to use alternative protection from the
sunlight, and one of them is sunscreen. A sunscreen is a compound which, like ozone, will
absorb the UV light. One example is the benzene ring. With its delocalized electrons will
absorb the energy from the UV light into its bonding. Thus a compound containing benzene
rings (e.g. PAPA: para-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde) will do the job of protecting us from the
dangerous sunlight.

Michael Holenderski, March 2000