O3 chemistry what. Methods for producing ozone. Ozone (O3) is a triatomic modification of oxygen (O2). See what “ozone, o3” is in other dictionaries

To the question about the chemical properties of ozone asked by the author Part.wholesale. the best answer is Chemical properties
The O3 molecule is unstable and, at sufficient concentrations in the air under normal conditions, spontaneously turns into O2 within a few tens of minutes, releasing heat.
Ozone is a powerful oxidizing agent, much more reactive than diatomic oxygen. Oxidizes almost all metals (except gold, platinum and iridium) to their highest oxidation states. Oxidizes many non-metals.
2 Cu2+(aq) + 2 H3O+(aq) + O3(g) → 2 Cu3+(aq) + 3 H2O(l) + O2(g)
Ozone increases the degree of oxidation of oxides:
NO + O3 → NO2 + O2
This reaction is accompanied by chemiluminescence. Nitrogen dioxide can be oxidized to nitrogen trioxide:
NO2 + O3 → NO3 + O2
with the formation of nitric anhydride N2O5:
NO2 + NO3 → N2O5
Ozone reacts with carbon at normal temperature to form carbon dioxide:
C + 2 O3 → CO2 + 2 O2
Ozone does not react with ammonium salts, but reacts with ammonia to form ammonium nitrate:
2 NH3 + 4 O3 → NH4NO3 + 4 O2 + H2O
Ozone reacts with sulfides to form sulfates:
PbS + 4 O3 → PbSO4 + 4 O2
Using ozone, you can obtain sulfuric acid from both elemental sulfur and sulfur dioxide:
S + H2O + O3 → H2SO4
3 SO2 + 3 H2O + O3 → 3 H2SO4
All three oxygen atoms in ozone can react individually in the reaction of tin chloride with hydrochloric acid and ozone:
3 SnCl2 + 6 HCl + O3 → 3 SnCl4 + 3 H2O
In the gas phase, ozone reacts with hydrogen sulfide to form sulfur dioxide:
H2S + O3 → SO2 + H2O
In an aqueous solution, two competing reactions with hydrogen sulfide take place, one with the formation of elemental sulfur, the other with the formation of sulfuric acid:
H2S + O3 → S + O2 + H2O
3 H2S + 4 O3 → 3 H2SO4
By treating a solution of iodine in cold anhydrous perchloric acid with ozone, iodine (III) perchlorate can be obtained:
I2 + 6 HClO4 + O3 → 2 I(ClO4)3 + 3 H2O
Solid nitrile perchlorate can be obtained by the reaction of gaseous NO2, ClO2 and O3:
2 NO2 + 2 ClO2 + 2 O3 → 2 NO2ClO4 + O2
Ozone can participate in combustion reactions, with combustion temperatures higher than with diatomic oxygen:
3 C4N2 + 4 O3 → 12 CO + 3 N2
Ozone can react at low temperatures. At 77 K (-196 °C), atomic hydrogen reacts with ozone to form a superoxide radical with dimerization of the latter:
H + O3 → HO2 + O
2 HO2 → H2O4
Ozone can form ozonides containing the O3- anion. These compounds are explosive and can be stored at low temperatures. Ozonides of all alkali metals are known. KO3, RbO3, and CsO3 can be prepared from the corresponding superoxides:
KO2 + O3 → KO3 + O2
Potassium ozonide can also be obtained in another way from potassium hydroxide:
2 KOH + 5 O3 → 2 KO3 + 5 O2 + H2O
NaO3 and LiO3 can be prepared by reacting CsO3 in liquid ammonia NH3 with ion exchange resins containing Na+ or Li+ ions:
CsO3 + Na+ → Cs+ + NaO3
Treatment of a solution of calcium in ammonia with ozone results in the formation of ammonium ozonide, not calcium:
3 Ca + 10 NH3 + 6 O3 → Ca 6NH3 + Ca(OH)2 + Ca(NO3)2 + 2 NH4O3 + 2 O2 + H2
Ozone can be used to remove manganese from water to form a precipitate that can be removed by filtration:
2 Mn2+ + 2 O3 + 4 H2O → 2 MnO(OH)2 (s) + 2 O2 + 4 H+
Ozone converts cyanides into many times less toxic cyanates:
CN- + O3 → CNO- + O2
Ozone can completely decompose urea:
(NH2)2CO + O3 → N2 + CO2 + 2 H2O

Ozone is a blue gas with a characteristic odor and a very strong oxidizing agent. The molecular formula of ozone is O 3. It is heavier than oxygen and our usual air.

It is difficult to find a person who would not know about the existence of ozone holes in the Earth’s stratosphere, depriving us of protection from excess ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, which is destructive for all living things. Against the backdrop of this global problem, the impact on our health would seem completely innocent. other ozone, located in the surface air that we breathe. People pay attention to air pollution from industrial emissions and car exhaust, but few people know how dangerous ground-level ozone for the human body.

Ground-level ozone is a secondary pollutant. It is not emitted into the atmospheric air from sources, but is formed as a result of photochemical reactions of precursors - volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, the source of emissions of which are motor vehicles, boiler houses and industrial enterprises. Ozone is one of the main components of photochemical smog, which causes eye diseases, headaches, coughs, pulmonary diseases, etc. Asthmatics and children are most susceptible to negative effects.

In high concentrations, ozone is a powerful poison, surpassing cyanide in its harmful properties! The high oxidizing ability of ozone and the formation of free oxygen radicals in many reactions with its participation determine its highest toxicity. Exposure of the body to ozone can lead to premature death. That is why ozone in the Russian Federation is classified as the first “EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES”, the highest class of hazardous substances!

What is the danger and harm of ozone to humans?

Because ozone is particularly toxic, the World Health Organization has included it in its list of the top five pollutants that need to be monitored when determining air quality.

Ozone negatively affects humans, having an irritating, carcinogenic, mutagenic, and genotoxic effect. It can enter the body through breathing. High concentrations of ozone can cause changes in lung function, cause inflammatory processes in the respiratory tract and increased reactivity of the body when using bronchoconstrictors. The World Health Organization has classified ozone as a non-threshold substance, that is, any concentration in the air of this gas, a strong carcinogen, is dangerous to humans. Ozone also affects vegetation, as it is a very phytotoxic compound that causes damage to the foliage of agricultural and fruit crops, coniferous and deciduous tree species. The toxicity of ozone increases greatly in the presence of nitrogen oxides in the air: together they act 20 times more powerfully than separately.

Study of the influence of ozone on humans in the USA and Europe

The higher the concentration of ozone in the surface atmosphere, the stronger people experience its negative impact on their health. This occurs most often during the summer months and as ozone concentrations in the lower atmosphere increase, the number of people hospitalized with respiratory problems increases. In the US, scientists have determined that one in three Americans are more sensitive to ozone and this group has a higher risk of harming their health due to ozone exposure. People from this risk group should pay special attention to information about the ozone content in the atmosphere of their places of residence. This information is provided locally by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in conjunction with the US government. Based on this information, Americans should make decisions related to risks to their health. Scientists have studied the effects of ozone on human health and have now found the following:

• ozone causes irritation of the respiratory system, cough, heaviness in the chest; these effects can last several hours and progress to a painful phase;
• ozone reduces pulmonary function; if you work outdoors, you will notice how your breathing becomes more frequent and less deep; decreased lung function can become an occupational disease for athletes who train outdoors;
• ozone promotes the development of asthma and increases the number of attacks of this disease;
• ozone causes allergies to the most common substances - dust, cockroaches, pollen, pets;
• ozone damages lung tissue; If ozone exposure is repeated, it causes changes in lung tissue and can lead to long-term health problems;
• ozone aggravates bronchitis and emphysema;
• ozone significantly reduces immunity to infection;
• The effects of ozone on children are especially dangerous; their lungs can be severely damaged by ozone exposure and this is negative
• will affect their development;
• Scientists believe that ozone has other harmful effects on human health.

Four groups of people are especially sensitive to ozone during their active outdoor lifestyle:

• CHILDREN. Active children have a very high risk of negative ozone exposure. When breathing deeply, ozone penetrates into the areas of the lungs that are most sensitive to ozone.

• ADULTS leading an active outdoor lifestyle.

• PEOPLE WITH RESPIRATORY DISEASES may be harmed by low concentrations of ozone.

• PEOPLE WITH UNUSUAL SENSITIVITY TO OZONE. Scientists cannot explain why some healthy people are more sensitive to ozone than others. They experience greater negative health effects from ozone.

• ELDERLY PEOPLE AND PEOPLE WITH HEART DISEASE are at higher risk from ozone exposure than others.

Scientists believe that ozone negatively affects health even if a person does not feel any signs of its effects.

Exposure to 3 mg/l ozone kills small animals within 5 minutes. 50% of white mice die after 2 hours at an ozone concentration in the air of 0.046 mg/l, after 4 hours at 0.00053 – 0.001 mg/l.

After 18 o'clock Inhalation of O3 at a concentration of 0.0012 mg/l causes pulmonary edema in rats. Half of the guinea pigs died after 3 hours of inhaling O3 at a concentration of 0.01 mg/l, rabbits 0.0074 mg/l, cats 0.007 mg/l. In addition to pulmonary edema, the animals observed inflammation of the liver and kidneys, a decrease in lipoids in the adrenal cortex, and mobilization of macrophages.

In Europe, considerable attention is also paid to the problem of this toxic gas. Monitoring of ground-level ozone in the EU countries is carried out at a network of monitoring stations. In 2002, there were more than 1,700 of them. And in Germany, for example, the most visited site on the Internet is a site that informs about the ozone content in the ground-level atmosphere and about ways to protect the population from its effects.

Ozone in the atmosphere

Ten percent of ozone is found in the lower atmosphere (troposphere), between the earth's surface and an altitude of 10 to 16 kilometers. Ninety percent of ozone is found in the stratosphere, from the upper troposphere to an altitude of 50 kilometers.

Stratospheric ozone– what scientists call the ozone layer – has uneven thickness above the Earth. The ozone layer over Antarctica is thinnest due to unique atmospheric conditions that promote concentrations of ozone-depleting chemicals.

Atmospheric ozone plays an important role for all life on the planet. By forming the ozone layer in the stratosphere, it protects plants and animals from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, the problem of ozone hole formation is of particular importance. However, tropospheric ozone is a pollutant that can threaten human and animal health and damage plants.

In nature, ozone is intensively formed during thunderstorms. And indeed it is. But there is another extremely important source of the formation of this amazing gas. It is generated by sunlight, which converts oxygen into ozone in the stratosphere. Thanks to the continuous formation of stratospheric ozone, all life on earth is under constant protection from the harmful effects of hard ultraviolet radiation.

Depending on its location in the atmosphere, ozone can either help or harm life on Earth. In the troposphere, ozone acts primarily as a pollutant in smog, which harms the respiratory system of animals and slows plant growth. The amount of naturally occurring ozone in the troposphere is too small to pose a threat to human health or the environment. Most of the harmful ozone that makes up smog is formed when sunlight reacts with hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, byproducts of cars and fossil fuel power plants.

Ozone in everyday life

The use of ozone is due to its properties as a strong oxidizing agent:

Ozone is used for sterilization of medical products, in the production of many substances in laboratory and industrial practice, for bleaching paper, and purifying oils.

Ozone also has a strong disinfecting effect. Therefore, it is widely used to purify water and air from microorganisms (ozonation), to disinfect premises and clothing, and to ozonate infusion solutions used in medicine, both for intravenous and contact use.

Ozone therapy - benefit or harm?

According to ozone therapists, human health improves significantly when treated with ozone (externally, orally, intravenously and extracorporeally), but not a single objective clinical study has confirmed any significant therapeutic effect. Moreover, when using ozone as a medicine (especially when directly affecting the patient’s blood), the proven risk of its mutagenic, carcinogenic and toxic effects outweighs any theoretically possible positive effects, therefore, in almost all developed countries, ozone therapy is not recognized as a medicinal method, but its use in private clinics it is possible only with the informed consent of the patient.

Household ozonizers - harm or benefit?

Many people believe that ozone is beneficial to our environment, and it will get rid of harmful bacteria and purify the air in our rooms. But in everything good we must look for the golden mean. Ozonation must be used with extreme caution. Ozone is beneficial in certain doses, but excessive use of ozone can be harmful to living beings. If there is as much ozone in the room as required by standards, then breathing becomes easier, the lungs are cleansed, and the air becomes free of harmful germs and microorganisms. But if the concentration of ozone in the air exceeds, breathing becomes difficult, coughing and dizziness begin.

Let us remind you once again: ozone in the Russian Federation is classified as the first, highest class of hazardous substances.

In high concentrations, ozone burns mucous membranes, has a destructive effect on the protein structure of the human body, the circulatory and central nervous systems, causes headaches and chest pains, respiratory disorders, and can also cause exacerbation of asthma and a general weakening of lung function. Once in the body, it has a general toxic and carcinogenic effect on the body, causing general malaise with headache, nausea, and irritating cough.

Standards for maximum ozone concentration:

• maximum single maximum permissible concentration (MPC m.r.) in the atmospheric air of populated areas 0.16 mg/m³
• average daily maximum permissible concentration (MPC s.s.) in the atmospheric air of populated areas 0.03 mg/m³
• maximum permissible concentration (MPC) in the air of the working area 0.1 mg/m³

The smell of ozone is detected by humans in concentrations of 0.01-0.02 mg/m3, which is 5-10 times less than the maximum permissible concentration, so the appearance of a faint smell of ozone in a room is not an alarming signal. To ensure reliable control of ozone content in a room, it is necessary to invite specialists, conduct air tests and, if the maximum concentration limit is exceeded, take timely measures to reduce it to a safe level.

Have you ever noticed how pleasant it is to breathe after rain? This refreshing air provides ozone in the atmosphere, which appears after rain. What is this substance, what are its functions, formula, and is it really useful for the human body? Let's figure it out.

What is ozone?

Anyone who attended high school knows that an oxygen molecule is made up of two atoms of the chemical element oxygen. However, this element is capable of forming another chemical compound - ozone. This name is given to a substance that is usually found in the form of a gas (although it can exist in all three states of aggregation).

The molecule of this substance is quite similar to oxygen (O 2), but it consists not of two, but of three atoms - O 3.

History of the discovery of ozone

The man who first synthesized ozone was the Dutch physicist Martin Van Marum.

It was he who, in 1785, conducted an experiment by passing an electric discharge through the air. The resulting gas not only acquired a specific odor, but also a bluish tint. In addition, the new substance turned out to be a stronger oxidizing agent than ordinary oxygen. Thus, having examined its effect on mercury, Van Marum discovered that the metal slightly changed its physical properties, which did not happen to it under the influence of oxygen.

Despite his discovery, the Dutch physicist did not believe that ozone was a special substance. Only 50 years after Van Marum’s discovery, the German scientist Christian Friedrich Schönbein became seriously interested in ozone. It was thanks to him that this substance received its name - ozone (in honor of the Greek word meaning “to smell”), and was also more closely studied and described.

Ozone: physical properties

This substance has a number of properties. The first of these is the ability of ozone, like water, to exist in three states of aggregation.

The normal state in which ozone exists is a bluish gas (it is what colors the skies azure) with a noticeable metallic aroma. The density of such gas is 2.1445 g/dm³.

As the temperature decreases, ozone molecules form a blue-violet liquid with a density of 1.59 g/cm³ (at a temperature of -188 °C). Liquid O 3 boils at -111.8 °C.

While in a solid state, ozone darkens, becoming almost black with a distinct violet-blue tint. Its density is 1.73 g/cm 3 (at −195.7 °C). The temperature at which solid ozone begins to melt is −197.2 °C.

The molecular weight of O 3 is 48 daltons.

At a temperature of 0 °C, ozone dissolves perfectly in water, ten times faster than oxygen. The presence of impurities in water can further speed up this reaction.

In addition to water, ozone dissolves in freon, which facilitates its transportation.

Among other substances in which O3 is easy to dissolve (in a liquid aggregate state) are argon, nitrogen, fluorine, methane, carbon dioxide, and carbon tetrachloride.

It also mixes well with liquid oxygen (at temperatures from 93 K).

Chemical properties of ozone

The O3 molecule is quite unstable. For this reason, in its normal state it exists for 10-40 minutes, after which it decomposes, producing a small amount of heat and oxygen O 2. This reaction can occur much faster if the catalysts are an increase in ambient temperature or a decrease in atmospheric pressure. Ozone decomposition is also facilitated by its contact with metals (except gold, platinum and iridium), oxides or substances of organic origin.

Interaction with nitric acid stops the decomposition of O 3. This is also facilitated by storing the substance at a temperature of −78 °C.

The main chemical property of ozone is its oxidizability. One of the oxidation products is always oxygen.

Under different conditions, O 3 is able to interact with almost all substances and chemical elements, reducing their toxicity by turning them into less dangerous ones. For example, cyanides are oxidized to cyanates, which are much safer for biological organisms.

How do they get it?

Most often, to obtain O3, oxygen is exposed to electric current. To separate the resulting mixture of oxygen and ozone, they use the property of the latter to liquefy better than O2.

In chemical laboratories, O3 is sometimes produced by reacting a cooled sulfuric acid concentrate with barium peroxide.

In medical institutions that use O3 to improve the health of patients, this substance is obtained by irradiating O2 with ultraviolet light (by the way, this substance is formed in the same way in the Earth’s atmosphere under the influence of sunlight).

Use of O3 in medicine and industry

The simple structure of ozone and the availability of the starting material for its extraction contribute to the active use of this substance in industry.

Being a strong oxidizing agent, it can disinfect much better than chlorine, formaldehyde or ethylene oxide, while being less toxic. Therefore, O 3 is often used to sterilize medical instruments, equipment, uniforms, and many drugs.

In industry, this substance is most often used for purification or extraction of many chemicals.

Another area of ​​use is the bleaching of paper, fabrics, and mineral oils.

In the chemical industry, O 3 not only helps to sterilize equipment, instruments and containers, but is also used to disinfect the products themselves (eggs, grain, meat, milk) and increase their shelf life. In fact, it is considered one of the best food preservatives because it is non-toxic and non-carcinogenic, and is also excellent at killing mold spores and other fungi and bacteria.

In bakeries, ozone is used to speed up the fermentation process of yeast.

Also, with the help of O 3, cognacs are artificially aged and fatty oils are refined.

How does ozone affect the human body?

Because of this similarity to oxygen, there is a misconception that ozone is a substance beneficial to the human body. However, this is not true, since O3 is one of the strongest oxidizing agents that can destroy the lungs and kill anyone who inhales this gas excessively. It is not for nothing that state environmental organizations in every country strictly monitor the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere.

If ozone is so harmful, then why does it always become easier to breathe after rain?

The fact is that one of the properties of O 3 is its ability to kill bacteria and purify substances from harmful impurities. When it rains due to a thunderstorm, ozone begins to form. This gas affects toxic substances contained in the air, breaking them down, and purifies oxygen from these impurities. It is for this reason that the air after rain is so fresh and pleasant, and the sky takes on a beautiful azure color.

These chemical properties of ozone, which allow it to purify the air, have recently been actively used to treat people suffering from various respiratory diseases, as well as to purify air, water, and various cosmetic procedures.

Today, household ozonizers that purify the air in the house using this gas are quite actively advertised. Although this technique seems to be very effective, scientists have not yet sufficiently studied the effect of large amounts of ozone-purified air on the body. For this reason, you should not get too carried away with ozonation.

I haven't written a review for a long time. I didn't come across anything interesting. Although no, I’m lying, a couple of things pleased me. One is the well-known ALPIN POT Kovea, which has become better and a membrane jacket. I’ll write about ALPIN POT Kovea later, but about the jacket now.

It all started with the fact that I was invited to an exhibition. A small B2B exhibition at the Izmailovo hotel. They invited me as an expert, but I was late for filming and just walked and watched. Surprisingly, I met many friends who are involved in outdoor topics.

Near the stand of my old friends Setil of Shveden, my eye caught a bright spot, which later turned out to be a membrane jacket, a beautiful, bright mustard-black color. I looked at the sign - O3Ozone.

But I know this company. And I have known for a long time. While the baobab trees of the Russian outdoor industry were growing thick branches of dealer networks and implementing mega projects, somewhere in Rostov they were also slowly making equipment. Without claiming the laurels of a trans-Russian company, they calmly equipped their own: athletes, rescuers in the mountains, and the mountains are not far away, just lovers of activity. And so for about 20 years. A? Impressive? Me - yes.

Let's get back to the jacket. The first thing I always look at is the paper tag. What, how, from what. I read: membrane. 10,000, 20,000... And then a question to the young lady sitting at the table at the stand: Whose membrane is this? And the immediate answer is: such and such. Yeah, I see. Why is there no shortcut? The young lady hesitated... Drains? - I ask and I already understand that yes. The membrane is cool, the best in the world in terms of breathability.
Personally, I don't care. The main thing is that the manufacturer is not fooling me with the “joint Chinese-Korean-Russian development.” Fine. Go ahead.
I take it off the hanger and turn it over in my hands. A neatly made item. And the young lady told me right away, with a characteristic Rostov accent: Try it on. Why not. My size.

I fit into the sleeves, fasten the zipper, and go to the mirror. My. That's just mine. Both color and cut. I don't want to take pictures. Where are the pockets? Here are the pockets! Pockets are where you need them! And they are not blocked either by the system or by the backpack’s cargo belt. And it doesn’t stick out in front, so you don’t need to adjust it with a cord. The patches on the sleeves are flimsy in appearance, but this does not spoil all the pictures.

Eh, I had a picture somewhere here from the Sierra Designs website with a diagram of the arrangement of pockets, which I showed in one large company, plaintively shouting in a falsetto: “Look! This is how pockets should be made!” But that company turned out to be deaf to my cries, because they had their own vision of life. So, the pockets on Ozone’s jacket are built exactly according to this scheme.
And then Natalya, the young lady who advised me, turned out to be, for a second, the head of the development department at O3 Ozone, and said: Let’s give it to you, this jacket? You come tomorrow when the exhibition ends and pick it up. To be honest, I was a little taken aback, but as you understand, I agreed. But I didn’t come tomorrow, there was a lot of work, but I still received the jacket a day before the TROLSS school’s training session. As you understand, there was no question of what to do.

Two days. Route 12 km. The terrain is flat. Snow depth up to 80 cm. Backpack 15-17 kg. The weather is good, sunny, almost no wind. Air temperature from -23C to -9C. Snowshoeing.
Equipment: Thermal underwear Bask EXTRA FIT, Thermal underwear Lowe Alpine from Polartec Power Stretch, O3Ozone Rex jacket.

Moisture removal is good. The membrane is working. The cut is excellent. It didn’t interfere anywhere, it didn’t get too high. The pockets worked at their best, the weight belt does not block the pockets, the jacket does not crawl out from under the belt. PATS! Remember, I wrote above that they seemed flimsy? No comments. Nothing came unfastened, did not cling or get in the way. But, I would improve this node.)))))

And the price tag is the icing on the cake. The Rex O-Tech Neo 3L membrane jacket costs 14,800 rubles on the o3o website. A jacket made of similar material from a well-known)))) Russian company costs 14,100 rubles more. You can laugh...)

And now pictures and movies))

Yours truly in the Rex O-Tech Neo 3L.

Group on the route.

I have always said, I say and will say that a good thing is determined by two main factors: engineering, that is, cut and materials. The right color combination improves the emotional component.

In general, we'll see. But so far the impressions are positive. I'm introducing a new tag - o3ozone

A gas such as ozone has extremely valuable properties for all mankind. The chemical element by which it is formed is O. In fact, ozone O 3 is one of the allotropic modifications of oxygen, consisting of three formula units (O÷O÷O). The first and more well-known compound is oxygen itself, more precisely the gas that is formed by two of its atoms (O=O) - O 2.

Allotropy is the ability of one chemical element to form a number of simple compounds with different properties. Thanks to her, humanity has studied and uses substances such as diamond and graphite, monoclinic and orthorhombic sulfur, oxygen and ozone. A chemical element that has this ability is not necessarily limited to only two modifications; some have more.

Connection opening history

A constituent unit of many organic and mineral substances, including such as ozone, a chemical element whose designation is O - oxygen, translated from Greek “oxys” - sour, and “gignomai” - to give birth.

The new one was first discovered during experiments with electrical discharges in 1785 by the Dutchman Martin van Maroon; his attention was attracted by a specific smell. A century later, the Frenchman Schönbein noted the presence of the same after a thunderstorm, resulting in the gas being called “smelling.” But scientists were somewhat deceived, believing that their sense of smell sensed the ozone itself. The smell they smelled was that of something oxidized by reacting with O3, since the gas is very reactive.

Electronic structure

O2 and O3, a chemical element, have the same structural fragment. Ozone has a more complex structure. In oxygen, everything is simple - two oxygen atoms are connected by a double bond consisting of a ϭ- and π-component, according to the valence of the element. O 3 has several resonance structures.

A multiple bond connects two oxygens, and the third has a single bond. Thus, due to the migration of the π component, in the overall picture three atoms have a sesquicompound. This bond is shorter than a single bond, but longer than a double bond. Experiments conducted by scientists exclude the possibility of cyclicity of the molecule.

Synthesis methods

To form a gas such as ozone, the chemical element oxygen must be present in a gaseous environment in the form of individual atoms. Such conditions are created when oxygen molecules O 2 collide with electrons during electrical discharges or other particles with high energy, as well as when it is irradiated with ultraviolet light.

The lion's share of the total amount of ozone in natural atmospheric conditions is formed photochemically. Man prefers to use other methods in chemical activity, such as, for example, electrolytic synthesis. It consists of placing platinum electrodes in an aqueous electrolyte medium and applying current. Reaction scheme:

H 2 O + O 2 → O 3 + H 2 + e -

Physical properties

Oxygen (O) is a constituent unit of a substance such as ozone - a chemical element whose formula, as well as its relative molar mass, are indicated in the periodic table. By forming O 3, oxygen acquires properties that are radically different from the properties of O 2.

The blue gas is the normal state of a compound such as ozone. Chemical element, formula, quantitative characteristics - all this was determined during the identification and study of this substance. for it -111.9 °C, the liquefied state has a dark purple color, with a further decrease in the degree to -197.2 °C melting begins. In the solid state of aggregation, ozone acquires a black color with a violet tint. Its solubility is ten times higher than this property of oxygen O 2. At the smallest concentrations in the air, the smell of ozone is felt; it is sharp, specific and reminiscent of the smell of metal.

Chemical properties

Ozone gas is very active, from a reaction point of view. The chemical element that forms it is oxygen. The characteristics that determine the behavior of ozone in interaction with other substances are the high oxidizing ability and instability of the gas itself. At elevated temperatures, it decomposes at an unprecedented speed; the process is also accelerated by catalysts such as metal oxides, nitrogen oxides and others. The properties of an oxidizing agent are inherent in ozone due to the structural features of the molecule and the mobility of one of the oxygen atoms, which, when split off, converts the gas into oxygen: O 3 → O 2 + O·

Oxygen (the building block from which molecules of substances such as oxygen and ozone are built) is a chemical element. As written in the reaction equations - O·. Ozone oxidizes all metals, with the exception of gold, platinum and its subgroup. It reacts with gases in the atmosphere - oxides of sulfur, nitrogen and others. Organic substances do not remain inert; the processes of breaking multiple bonds through the formation of intermediate compounds occur especially quickly. It is extremely important that the reaction products are harmless to the environment and humans. These are water, oxygen, higher oxides of various elements, and carbon oxides. Binary compounds of calcium, titanium and silicon with oxygen do not interact with ozone.

Application

The main area where "smelling" gas is used is ozonation. This sterilization method is much more effective and safer for living organisms than disinfection with chlorine. There is no formation of toxic methane derivatives replaced by a dangerous halogen.

Increasingly, this environmental sterilization method is being used in the food industry. Ozone is used to treat refrigeration equipment and food storage areas, and it is used to eliminate odors.

For medicine, the disinfecting properties of ozone are also indispensable. They use it to disinfect wounds and saline solutions. Venous blood is ozonized, and a number of chronic diseases are treated with the “smelling” gas.

Finding in nature and meaning

The simple substance ozone is an element of the gas composition of the stratosphere, a region of near-Earth space located at a distance of about 20-30 km from the surface of the planet. The release of this compound occurs during processes associated with electrical discharges, during welding, and the operation of copier machines. But it is in the stratosphere that 99% of the total amount of ozone found in the Earth’s atmosphere is formed and contains.

The presence of gas in near-Earth space turned out to be vitally important. It forms the so-called ozone layer, which protects all living things from the deadly ultraviolet radiation of the Sun. Oddly enough, but along with the enormous benefits, the gas itself is dangerous for people. An increase in the concentration of ozone in the air that a person breathes is harmful to the body due to its extreme chemical activity.