Role of OH radicals in the formation of oxygen molecules following vacuum ultraviolet photodissociation of amorphous solid water.

Photodesorption of O(2)(X (3)Σ(g) (-)) and O(2)(a (1)Δ(g)) from amorphous solid water at 90 K has been studied following photoexcitation within the first absorption band at 157 nm. Time-of-flight and rotational spectra of O(2) reveal the translational and internal energy distributions, from which production mechanisms are deduced. Exothermic and endothermic reactions of OH+O((3)P) are proposed as plausible formation mechanisms for O(2)(X (3)Σ(g) (-) and a (1)Δ(g)). To examine the contribution of the O((3)P)+O((3)P) recombination reaction to the O(2) formation following 157 nm photolysis of amorphous solid water, O(2) products following 193 nm photodissociation of SO(2) adsorbed on amorphous solid water were also investigated.