When Mechanism II for ozone destruction operates with X =Cl and X’= Br, the radi

Question

When Mechanism II for ozone destruction operates with X =Cl and X’= Br, the radicals ClO and BrO react together to reform atomic chlorine and bromine (see Problem 2-1). A fraction of the latter process proceeds by the intermediate formation of BrCl, which undergoes photolysis in daylight. At night, however, all the bromine eventually ends up as BrCl, which does not decompose and restart the mechanism until dawn. Deduce why all the bromine exists as BrCl at night, even though only a fraction of the ClO with BrO collisions yields this product.

Explanation / Answer

BrCl is relatively stable if there is no photolysis (e.g. at night), so once formed, it will stay in that form.
This is the reason why all the bromine exists as BrCl at night, even though only a fraction of the ClO with BrO collisions yields this product.

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