How do Ozone machines affect objects and air around them?
In: Chemistry
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Ozone is an unstable molecule. Normally oxygen forms molecules made of 2 oxygen atoms, but ozone is made up of 3 atoms, which means it really wants to split into it’s nice, stable form of 2 oxygen atoms joined together. However, when it does this it leaves behind a single oxygen atom that’s not joind to anything and this is REALLY unstable. A lone oxygen atom really, really wants to bind to something, anything, to make it more stable.
Things like smoke particles and other particles that are smelly and floating around in the air are perfect for that single, lonely oxygen atom to bind to and so when you release ozone into the air in a room it quicly splits into nice, stable O2 (2 oxygen atoms joined) and reactive O (lone oxygen atom) which then quickly binds to those floaty, smelly things like smoke.
Generally things smell because of the shape of their molecules. When O binds to them it changes that shape, and also tends to bind to the parts of smelly molecules that also wants to bind to other things – like the smell receptors in our noses. This makes them less smelly.
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