Angular momentum conservation in the O + OH ↔ O2 + H reaction

We have studied the O + OH ↔ O₂ + H reaction on Varandas's DMBE IV potential using a variety of statistical methods, all involving the RRKM assumption for the HO₂* complex. Comparing our results using microcanonical variational transition‐state theory (μVT) with those using microcanonical/fixed‐J variational transition‐state theory (μVT‐J), we find that the effect of angular momentum conservation on the rate coefficient is imperceptible up to a temperature of about 700 K. Above 700 K angular momentum conservation increasingly reduces the rate coefficient, but only by approximately 21% even at 5000 K. Comparing our μVT‐J calculations with the quasi‐classical trajectory (QCT) results of Miller and Garrett [ 1 ], we confirm their conclusion that non‐RRKM dynamics of the HO₂* complex reduces the rate coefficient by about a factor of 2 independent of temperature. Our calculations of k^(c), the rate coefficient for HO₂* formation from O + OH, are in excellent agreement with the QCT results of Miller and Garrett. Although the differences are not large, we find k_CVT^(c) > k_μVT^(c) > k_μVT‐J^(c) > k_QCT^(c), where CVT stands for canonical variational transition‐state theory. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 31: 753–756, 1999