Abstract Molecular oxygen, O2, is vital to life on Earth and possibly also on exoplanets. Although the biogenic processes leading to its accumulation in Earth’s atmosphere are well understood, its abiotic origin is still not fully established. Here, we report combined experimental and theoretical evidence for electronic state–selective production of O2 from SO2, a chemical constituent of many planetary atmospheres and one that played an important part on Earth in the Great Oxidation Event.
