文摘
A hitherto unknown reaction, the isotope exchange between oxygenand ozone, accompanies formation of thelatter upon ionization of O2 or air, a long-known processwidely utilized for the production of ozone and of greatrelevance to atmospheric chemistry. The isotope exchange wasdemonstrated and its mechanism established bymass spectrometric techniques that allowed identification of thecharged intermediate, the O5+ ion,characterizedby the joint application of theoretical and experimental methods astruly unique among all known On+complexes.The results are of interest to atmospheric chemistry, bearing onthe problem related to the widely different extentof 18O enrichment of ozone in the stratosphere and in thetroposphere.