On the Existence of Active Oxygen / Thesis Presented for the Attainment of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Johns Hopkins University

The thesis surveys nineteenth-century investigations into alternative forms of oxygen, recounting the identification of ozone as an allotrope and the reports of nascent or so-called antozone generated by chemical reactions or by light acting on organic substances. It assesses experimental evidence that many putative third forms are mixtures or transient oxygenated species, describes pathways that produce ozone and hydrogen peroxide during oxidation reactions, and presents laboratory tests, including experiments with hydrogen-charged palladium, that probe oxygen activation. The author integrates prior critiques and results to conclude that observed oxidizing behavior is better explained by unstable oxygenated compounds or transient reactive atoms than by a distinct stable gaseous allotrope.