2014-2015 | Page 62

CATALYTIC DESTRUCTION OF OZONE Ozone’s ability to absorb UV radiation also means that it is unstable, and it react easily with compounds found in the stratosphere that have been released by humanbeings. The most known dangerous ones are NOx (NO, NO2) and chloro flurocarbons, known as CFCs. The highly energized radicals are formed from those compounds and then catalyse the decomposition of ozone to oxygen, which will produce the ozone depletion. Chloroflurocarbons were widely used in aerosols, refrigirators, solvents, plastics due to their low reactivity and low toxicity in the troposphere. But when they get into the stratosphere, the higher energy UV radiation breaks them down, releasing free chlorine atoms, which are also reactive free radicals. THE CLAPPER 2014 - 2015 62