Surface-catalyzed singlet oxygen production on iodine oxide films

Enhanced production of singlet oxygen, O2(a1Δg), was observed by reaction of O2/He discharge effluents on an iodine oxide film surface in a microwave discharge-flow reactor at 320 K. We observed a two-fold increase in the O2(a) yields over discharge-generated amounts for non-catalytic conditions. The iodine oxide surface appears to catalyze the heterogeneous reaction to form O2(a) with high collision efficiency. The observed catalytic effect could significantly benefit the development of electrically driven oxygen–iodine laser systems, and may also have implications for the chemistry of atmospheric iodine oxide aerosol.