Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Production and Measurement of Organic Particulate Matter in the Harvard Environmental Chamber
Published on: November 18, 2018
Stratospheric ozone destruction by man-made chlorofluoromethanes
Abstract:
Calculations indicate that chlorofluoromethanes produced by man can greatly affect the concentrations of stratospheric ozone in future decades. This effect follows the release of chlorine from these compounds in the stratosphere. Present usage levels of chlorofluoromethanes can lead to chlorine-catalyzed ozone destruction rates that will exceed natural sinks of ozone by 1985 or 1990.
Related Concept Videos
Radical Substitution: Halogenation of Alkanes and Alkyl Substituents
In the initiation step of the reaction, the chlorine molecule undergoes homolytic cleavage in the presence of light or heat, forming two highly reactive chlorine radicals. Propagation occurs in two...
Microbial Bioremediation of Pesticides
Multiple Halogenation of Methyl Ketones: Haloform Reaction
Global Climate Change
Mass Spectrometry: Alkyl Halide Fragmentation
Oxidative Cleavage of Alkenes: Ozonolysis
Ozone is a symmetrical bent molecule stabilized by a resonance structure.

