Abiotic molecular oxygen production-Ionic pathway from sulfur dioxide.

ABSTRACT: Molecular oxygen, O₂, is vital to life on Earth and possibly also on exoplanets. Although the biogenic processes leading to its accumulation in Earth's atmosphere are well understood, its abiotic origin is still not fully established. Here, we report combined experimental and theoretical evidence for electronic state-selective production of O₂ from SO₂, a chemical constituent of many planetary atmospheres and one that played an important part on Earth in the Great Oxidation Event. The O₂ production involves dissociative double ionization of SO₂ leading to efficient formation of the [Formula: see text] ion, which can be converted to abiotic O₂ by electron neutralization or by charge exchange. This formation process may contri

SUBMITTER: Wallner M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9390983 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature