The formation of photochemical smog is driven by sunlight. Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is a primary pollutant that photodissociates in sunlight to form nitric oxide (NO) and atomic oxygen (O). This atomic oxygen quickly reacts with molecular oxygen (O₂) to form ozone (O₃). VOCs react with NOx and other atmospheric components in the presence of sunlight to form a variety of secondary pollutants, including PAN. Therefore, NO₂, O₃ (as a product), and PAN (as a product), with sunlight as the driving force, are central to photochemical smog.
Photochemical smog is a resultant of the reaction among
Asked in UPSC IAS 2013 · WBCS Main Paper 4 2022 · Topic: Pollution (Air Pollution: Types, sources, primary & secondary pollutants, smog, acid rain, effects, control technologies & policies.)
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Answer: A. NO₂, O₃ and peroxyacetyl nitrate in the presence of sunlight
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