Carbon trioxide gas (CO3) exists, and is an unstable oxide of
carbon (an oxocarbon). Carbon trioxide can be produced, for
example, in the drift zone of a negative corona discharge by
reactions between carbon dioxide (CO2) and the atomic oxygen (O)
created from molecular oxygen by free electrons in the plasma. The
half-life of carbon trioxide is only approximately 30 minutes,
before breakdown into carbon dioxide and the oxygen radical. Carbon
trioxide plays an important role in atmospheric chemistry and has
been detected in interstellar ices.
Carbon trioxide should not be confused with the stable carbonate
ion (CO32−), which is an ion in solution.