Photochemistry of the ozone-water complex in cryogenic neon, argon, and krypton matrixes.

The photochemistry of ozone-water complexes and the wavelength dependence of the reactions were studied by matrix isolation FTIR spectrometry in neon, argon, and krypton matrixes. Hydrogen peroxide was formed upon the irradiation of UV light below 355 nm. Quantitative analyses of the reactant and product were performed to evaluate the matrix cage effect of the photoreaction. In argon and krypton matrixes, a bimolecular O((1)D) + H2O → H2O2 reaction was found to occur to form hydrogen peroxide, where the O((1)D) atom generated by the photolysis of ozone diffused in the cryogenic solids to encounter water. In a neon matrix, hydrogen peroxide was generated through intracage photoreaction of the ozone-water complex, indicating that a neon matrix medium is most appropriate to study the photochemistry of the ozone-water complex.