Ozone degradation
Introduction
Ozone (O) is a substance whose molecule is composed of three oxygen atoms, formed when the two atoms that make up oxygen gas dissociate. Each oxygen atom released binds to another gaseous oxygen molecule (O), forming ozone molecules (O).
At ambient temperature and pressure, ozone is an odorless and generally colorless gas, but in high concentrations it can turn slightly bluish. Breathing in large quantities can cause eye or throat irritation, which usually happens after breathing fresh, oxygen-rich air for a few minutes. Ground-level ozone (tropospheric ozone) produced by industrial combustion, actually ozone mixed with nitrogen dioxide, can aggravate existing respiratory diseases and also cause throat irritation, headache or chest pain.
Discovery
Ozone is the first allotrope of a chemical element to be identified by science. At present it is not well known who originally discovered it, with several candidates. Several studies suggest that it was the chemists Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson who discovered the ozone layer in 1913.
In 1785, Dutch chemist Martinus van Marum noticed a strange odor while he was carrying out experiments with electrical sparks above water, which he attributed to electrical reactions, without realizing that he had actually created ozone. Half a century later, Christian Friedrich Schönbein noticed the same pungent odor and recognized it as the odor often seen in thunderstorms after a lightning strike. In 1839, he managed to isolate the gaseous compound and named it "ozone", from the Greek word ozein (), 'to have an odour'.[3][4] For this reason, Schönbein is generally credited as the discoverer of ozone.[2][5] The formula for ozone, O, was not determined until 1865 by Jacques-Louis Soret[6] and confirmed by Schönbein in 1867.[3][7].
For much of the second half of the century and well into the 20th century, ozone was considered a healthy component of the environment by naturalists and health care homes. The town of Beaumont "Beaumont (California)"), California, had as its official motto "Beaumont: Ozone Zone", as evidenced by postcards and the header of letters from the Chamber of Commerce.[8] Outdoor naturalists often considered higher elevations beneficial due to their ozone content. "There is a very different atmosphere [at the highest elevation] with enough ozone to sustain the energy needed [to work]," wrote naturalist Henry Henshaw, working in Hawaii.[9] Marine air was thought to be healthier because of its ozone content; but the odor that gives rise to this belief is, in fact, that of the metabolites of halogenated algae.[10].