Theoretical evidence for bound electronic excited states of ozone

Extensive configuration interaction calculations (up to 1532 spin eigenfunctions) have been carried out on ozone with both minimal and extended bases. Vertical and adiabatic excitation energies to 14 excited states are reported, including seven states with vertical excitation energies less than 4 eV. Our calculations indicate that in addition to the ground state there are four other states of ozone (³B₂, ³A₂, ¹A₂ and ³B₁) bound with respect to dissociation to ground state O₂ and O (by 0.4, 0.3, 0.1 and 0.0 eV, respectively). With such small bonding energies, the current results cannot be said to show definitively (except perhaps for ³B₂) these four states to be bound with respect to O₂ + O. However, the theoretical evidence is sufficiently strong as to warrant careful experimental studies. Such bound excited electronic states could play important roles in the chemistry of the upper atmosphere and in the chemistry of oxygen discharge systems. One (or more) of these states may be responsible for the short-lived intermediate ('ozone precursor') recently observed in oxygen radiolysis.