Vibronic origin of sulfur mass-independent isotope effect in photoexcitation of SO2 and the implications to the early earth's atmosphere.

ABSTRACT: Signatures of mass-independent isotope fractionation (MIF) are found in the oxygen ((16)O,(17)O,(18)O) and sulfur ((32)S, (33)S, (34)S, (36)S) isotope systems and serve as important tracers of past and present atmospheric processes. These unique isotope signatures signify the breakdown of the traditional theory of isotope fractionation, but the physical chemistry of these isotope effects remains poorly understood. We report the production of large sulfur isotope MIF, with Δ(33)S up to 78‰ and Δ(36)S up to 110‰, from the broadband excitation of SO2 in the 250-350-nm absorption region. Acetylene is used to selectively trap the triplet-state SO2 ( (3)B1), which results from intersystem crossing from the excited singlet ( (1)A2/ (1)B1) states. The observed MIF signature differs considerably fr

SUBMITTER: Whitehill AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3816475 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature