Question

Name the chemicals which are used in refrigerators and air conditioners and damage ozone layers when released in air.

Answer 1

Ozone layer absorbs most of the UV radiation reaching from the sun and is a region of Earth’s stratosphere. Depletion of the ozone layer leads to higher levels of UV radiation reaching the earth’ surface resulting in the risk of skin cancer, harm plant life, reduce the population of sea life and leads to the increase of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Complete step by step answer:
The chemicals which are used in refrigerators and air conditioners and damage ozone layer when released in air is $CFCs$ (Chlorofluorocarbons).
It is used as a refrigerant in refrigerators. Shredded foam insulation from junked refrigerators is releasing amounts of $CFCs$ (Chlorofluorocarbons) into the earth’s atmosphere. The more finely shredded the foam faster is the release of $CFCs$. $CFCs$ were developed in the early $1930s$ but the majority of the $CFC$ emissions coming from the refrigerators were made during the $1980s$, when a new type of insulating foam was used.
The damage caused in the earth’s ozone layer (a thin shield of oxygen) due to the chlorine contained in $CFCs$.
A single chlorine molecule in $CFC$ can destroy $100,000$ ozone molecules, although which can be reformed over time by a chemical reaction stimulated by sunlight.
The upper part of the atmosphere known as stratosphere contains approximately 3 billion kilograms of ozone which is enough to create a layer 8 inch thick that surrounds the earth.
$CFCs$ are produced by halogen exchange starting from chlorinated methane and ethane.
Hence, $CFCs$ is the answer for the given question.

Note:
Ozone is an allotrope of oxygen which is highly unstable in nature.
It is prepared by passing a silent discharge through dry, unadulterated and cold oxygen in a device known as ozoniser. It is an endothermic process so we must complete it at higher temperatures for which we use silent discharge. The reaction involved is
$3{O_2} + \,energy \to 2{O_2}$
Here energy used is the silent discharge.
It is used as an oxidizing agent for several reactions.