Production of Cl2O2 from the self-reaction of the ClO radical

The species Cl2O2 has been generated in a gaseous flow system at 220-240 K by reacting Cl atoms with one of three different ClO precursors: O3, Cl2O, or OClO. The infrared spectra of the reactive mixture indicate that at least two different dimers are produced: a predominant form with bands centered at 1225 and 1057/cm attributed to ClOOCl, and a second form with a band at 650/cm attributed to ClOClO. The UV spectrum of the predominant form shows a maximum absorption cross section of about 6.5 x 10 to the -18th sq cm/molecule around 270 nm, with a wing extending beyond 300 nm. The implications of these results for the chemistry of the stratosphere are discussed.