Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2593–2601, 2016 www.atmos-meas-tech.net/9/2593/2016/ doi:10.5194/amt-9-2593-2016 © Author(s) 2016. CC Attribution 3.0 License. New and improved infrared absorption cross sections for chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22) Jeremy J. Harrison1,2 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK 2National Centre for Earth Observation, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK Correspondence to: Jeremy J. Harrison (
[email protected]) Received: 10 December 2015 – Published in Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss.: 18 January 2016 Revised: 3 May 2016 – Accepted: 6 May 2016 – Published: 17 June 2016 Abstract. The most widely used hydrochlorofluorocarbon 1 Introduction (HCFC) commercially since the 1930s has been chloro- difluoromethane, or HCFC-22, which has the undesirable The consumer appetite for safe household refrigeration led effect of depleting stratospheric ozone. As this molecule to the commercialisation in the 1930s of dichlorodifluo- is currently being phased out under the Montreal Pro- romethane, or CFC-12, a non-flammable and non-toxic re- tocol, monitoring its concentration profiles using infrared frigerant (Myers, 2007). Within the next few decades, other sounders crucially requires accurate laboratory spectroscopic chemically related refrigerants were additionally commer- data. This work describes new high-resolution infrared ab- cialised, including chlorodifluoromethane, or a hydrochlo- sorption cross sections of chlorodifluoromethane over the rofluorocarbon known as HCFC-22, which found use in a spectral range 730–1380 cm−1, determined from spectra wide array of applications such as air conditioners, chillers, recorded using a high-resolution Fourier transform spectrom- and refrigeration for food retail and industrial processes.