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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Photoelectron Imaging of Anions Illustrated by 310 Nm Detachment of F−
Published on: July 27, 2018
Oscillatory photochemical decomposition of tetrathionate ion
Attila K Horváth1, István Nagypál, Irving R Epstein
1Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Szeged, Szeged P.O. Box 105, H-6701, Hungary.
Abstract:
When subject to illumination, tetrathionate ion decomposes in an oscillatory fashion with a period of about 1 h to yield products identified as colloidal sulfur and trithionate ion. This system represents the first experimental example of a stirred, batch photochemical oscillator. A simple model consisting of four reaction steps and four adjustable rate parameters gives good agreement with the observed oscillatory behavior.
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