Intense red and near-infrared emissions were observed when a heated Cu wire was placed in a chemically generated O2(a (1)DELTA(g)) flow. Spectra with medium resolution (0.1 cm-1) were recorded by a Fourier transform spectrometer (BOMEM, DA3.002). The near-infrared spectrum has been assigned to an electric quadrupole transition, (2)DELTA(g)(j = 5/2) --> (2)PI(g)(j = 1/2 and j = 3/2), of CuCl2. The vibrational spectral assignment has also been given for the first time. In the visible (red) spectrum, interference structures have appeared, possibly resulting from a bound-free or free-bound transition just as occurred with some diatomic molecules. An extended discussion on the spectroscopic recognition of the red emission was given. Contrary to Tokuda et al.'s assertion, it is very unlikely to assign the red emitter to CuCl2
