Theoretical study for the reaction of CH3OCl with Cl atom

A direct dynamics method is employed to study the kinetics of the multiple channel reaction CH(3)OCl + Cl. The potential energy surface (PES) information is explored from ab initio calculations. Two reaction channels, Cl- and H-abstractions, have been identified. The optimized geometries and frequencies of the stationary points and the minimum-energy paths (MEPs) are calculated at the MP2 level of theory using the 6-311G(d, p) and cc-pVTZ basis sets, respectively. The single-point energies along the MEPs are further refined at the G3(MP2)//MP2/6-311G(d, p), G3//MP2/6-311G(d, p), as well as by the multicoefficient correlation method based on QCISD (MC-QCISD) using the MP2/cc-pVTZ geometries. The enthalpies of formation for the species CH(3)OCl and CH(2)OCl are calculated via isodesmic reactions. The rate constants of the two reaction channels are evaluated by using the variational transition-state theory over a wide range of temperature, 220-2200 K. The calculated rate constants exhibit the slightly negative temperature dependence and show good agreement with the available experimental data at room temperature at the G3(MP2)//MP2/6-311G(d, p) level. The present calculations indicate that the two channels are competitive at low temperatures while H-abstraction plays a more important role with the increase of temperature. The calculated k(1a)/k(1) ratio of 0.5 at 298 K is in general agreement with the experimental one, 0.8 +/- 0.2. The high rate constant for CH(3)OCl + Cl shows that removal by reaction with Cl atom is a potentially important loss process for CH(3)OCl in the polar stratosphere.     

Mechanistic and kinetic study of the CH3CO + O2 reaction

Potential-energy surface of the CH3CO + O2 reaction has been calculated by ab initio quantum chemistry methods. The geometries were optimized using the second-order Moller-Plesset theory (MP2) with the 6-311G(d,p) basis set and the coupled-cluster theory with single and double excitations (CCSD) with the correlation consistent polarized valence double zeta (cc-pVDZ) basis set. The relative energies were calculated using the Gaussian-3 second-order Moller-Plesset theory with the CCSD/cc-pVDZ geometries. Multireference self-consistent-field and MP2 methods were also employed using the 6-311G(d,p) and 6-311++G(3df,2p) basis sets. Both addition/elimination and direct abstraction mechanisms have been investigated. It was revealed that acetylperoxy radical [CH3C(O)OO] is the initial adduct and the formation of OH and alpha-lactone [CH2CO2(1A')] is the only energetically accessible decomposition channel. The other channels, e.g., abstraction, HO2 + CH2CO, O + CH3CO2, CO + CH3O2, and CO2 + CH3O, are negligible. Multichannel Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus theory and transition state theory (E-resolved) were employed to calculate the overall and individual rate coefficients and the temperature and pressure dependences. Fairly good agreement between theory and experiments has been obtained without any adjustable parameters. It was concluded that at pressures below 3 Torr, OH and CH2CO2(1A') are the major nascent products of the oxidation of acetyl radicals, although CH2CO2(1A') might either undergo unimolecular decomposition to form the final products of CH2O + CO or react with OH and Cl to generate H2O and HCl. The acetylperoxy radicals formed by collisional stabilization are the major products at the elevated pressures. In atmosphere, the yield of acetylperoxy is nearly unity and the contribution of OH is only marginal.     

A kinetic and product study of the Cl + HO2 reaction

Absolute rate data and product branching ratios for the reactions Cl + HO2 --> HCl + O2 (k1a) and Cl + HO2 --> OH + ClO (k1b) have been measured from 226 to 336 K at a total pressure of 1 Torr of helium using the discharge flow resonance fluorescence technique coupled with infrared diode laser spectroscopy. For kinetic measurements, pseudo-first-order conditions were used with both reagents in excess in separate experiments. HO2 was produced by two methods: through the termolecular reaction of H atoms with O2 and also by the reaction of F atoms with H2O2. Cl atoms were produced by a microwave discharge of Cl2 in He. HO2 radicals were converted to OH radicals prior to detection by resonance fluorescence at 308 nm. Cl atoms were detected directly at 138 nm also by resonance fluorescence. Measurement of the consumption of HO2 in excess Cl yielded k1a and measurement of the consumption of Cl in excess HO2 yielded the total rate coefficient, k1. Values of k1a and k1 derived from kinetic experiments expressed in Arrhenius form are (1.6 +/- 0.2) x 10(-11) exp[(249 +/- 34)/T] and (2.8 +/- 0.1) x 10(-11) exp[(123 +/- 15)/T] cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1), respectively. As the expression for k1 is only weakly temperature dependent, we report a temperature-independent value of k1 = (4.5 +/- 0.4) x 10(-11) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1). Additionally, an Arrhenius expression for k1b can also be derived: k1b = (7.7 +/- 0.8) x 10(-11) exp[-(708 +/- 29)/T] cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1). These expressions for k1a and k1b are valid for 226 K < or = T < or = 336 and 256 K < or = T < or = 296 K, respectively. The cited errors are at the level of a single standard deviation. For the product measurements, an excess of Cl was added to known concentrations of HO2 and the reaction was allowed to reach completion. HCl product concentrations were determined by IR absorption yielding the ratio k1a/k1 over the temperature range 236 K < or = T < or = 296 K. OH product concentrations were determined by resonance fluorescence giving rise to the ratio k1b/k1 over the temperature range 226 K < or = T < or = 336 K. Both of these ratios were subsequently converted to absolute numbers. Values of k1a and k1b from the product experiments expressed in Arrhenius form are (1.5 +/- 0.1) x 10(-11) exp[(222 +/- 17)/T] and (10.6 +/- 1.5) x 10(-11) exp[-(733 +/- 41)/T] cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1), respectively. These expressions for k1a and k1b are valid for 256 K < or = T < or = 296 and 226 K < or = T < or = 336 K, respectively. A combination of the kinetic and product data results in the following Arrhenius expressions for k1a and k1b of (1.4 +/- 0.3) x 10(-11) exp[(269 +/- 58)/T] and (12.7 +/- 4.1) x 10(-11) exp[-(801 +/- 94)/T] cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1), respectively. Numerical simulations were used to check for interferences from secondary chemistry in both the kinetic and product experiments and also to quantify the losses incurred during the conversion process HO2 --> OH for detection purposes.     

A kinetic study of the reaction of chlorine and fluorine atoms with CF3CHO at 295 ± 2 K

Using a relative rate technique the reactions of chlorine and fluorine atoms with CF₃CHO have been determined to proceed with rate constants of (1.8 ± 0.4) × 10⁻¹² and (2.7 ± 0.1)×10⁻¹¹ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹, respectively. Experiments were performed at 295 ± 2 K and 700 torr total pressure of nitrogen. The results are discussed with respect to the design and interpretation of laboratory studies of the atmospheric chemistry of CFC replacements. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Theoretical dynamic studies on the reaction of CH3C(O)CH3-nFn with the hydroxyl radical and the chlorine atom.

The mechanisms of the reactions: CH(3)C(O)CH(2)F+OH/Cl-->products (R1/R2) and CH(3)C(O)CF(3)+OH/Cl-->products (R3/R4) are studied over a wide temperature range (200-2000 K) by means of the dual-level direct dynamics method. The optimized geometries and frequencies of the stationary points are calculated at the MP2/cc-pVDZ and B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) levels. The energy profiles of the reactions are then refined with the interpolated single-point-energy method (ISPE) at the BMC-CCSD level. The canonical variational transition-state theory (CVT) with the small-curvature-tunneling (SCT) correction method is used to calculate the rate constants. Using group-balanced isodesmic reactions as working chemical reactions, the standard enthalpies of formation for CH(3)C(O)CH(2)F, CH(3)C(O)CF(3), CH(3)C(O)CHF, CH(2)C(O)CH(2)F, and CH(2)C(O)CF(3) are evaluated at the CCSD(T)/6-311+G(2d,p)//MP2/cc-pVDZ level of theory. The results indicate that the hydrogen abstraction is dominated by removal from the fluoromethyl position rather than from the methyl position.     

Kinetic and mechanistic study of the reactions of atomic chlorine with CH3CH2Br, CH3CH2CH2Br, and CH2BrCH2Br

A laser flash photolysis-resonance fluorescence technique has been employed to investigate the reactions of atomic chlorine with three alkyl bromides (R-Br) that have been identified as short-lived atmospheric constituents with significant ozone depletion potentials (ODPs). Kinetic data are obtained through time-resolved observation of the appearance of atomic bromine that is formed by rapid unimolecular decomposition of radicals generated via abstraction of a β-hydrogen atom. The following Arrhenius expressions are excellent representations of the temperature dependence of rate coefficients measured for the reactions Cl + CH(3)CH(2)Br (eq 1 ) and Cl + CH(3)CH(2)CH(2)Br (eq 2 ) over the temperature range 221-436 K (units are 10(-11) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1)): k(1)(T) = 3.73?exp(-378/T) and k(2)(T) = 5.14?exp(+21/T). The accuracy (2σ) of rate coefficients obtained from the above expressions is estimated to be ±15% for k(2)(T) and +15/-25% for k(1)(T) independent of T. For the relatively slow reaction Cl + CH(2)BrCH(2)Br (eq 3 ), a nonlinear ln k(3) vs 1/T dependence is observed and contributions to observed kinetics from impurity reactions cannot be ruled out; the following modified Arrhenius expression represents the temperature dependence (244-569 K) of upper-limit rate coefficients that are consistent with the data: k(3)(T) ≤ 3.2 × 10(-17)T(2)?exp(-184/T) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1). Comparison of Br fluorescence signal strengths obtained when Cl removal is dominated by reaction with R-Br with those obtained when Cl removal is dominated by reaction with Br(2) (unit yield calibration) allows branching ratios for β-hydrogen abstraction (k(ia)/k(i), i = 1,2) to be evaluated. The following Arrhenius-type expressions are excellent representations of the observed temperature dependences: k(1a)/k(1) = 0.85?exp(-230/T) and k(2a)/k(2) = 0.40 exp(+181/T). The accuracy (2σ) of branching ratios obtained from the above expressions is estimated to be ±35% for reaction 1 and ±25% for reaction 2 independent of T. It appears likely that reactions 1 and 2 play a significant role in limiting the tropospheric lifetime and, therefore, the ODP of CH(3)CH(2)Br and CH(3)CH(2)CH(2)Br, respectively.     

Ab initio direct dynamics studies on the reaction of H atom with CH3CH2Cl

The multiple channel reaction H + CH(3)CH(2)Cl --> products has been studied by the ab initio direct dynamics method. The potential energy surface information is calculated at the MP2/6-311G(d,p) level of theory. The energies along the minimum energy path are further improved by single-point energy calculations at the PMP4(SDTQ)/6-311+G(3df,2p) level of theory. For the reaction, four reaction channels (one chlorine abstraction, one alpha-hydrogen abstraction, and two beta-hydrogen abstractions) have been identified. The rate constants for each reaction channel are calculated by using canonical variational transition state theory incorporating the small-curvature tunneling correction in the temperature range 298-5000 K. The total rate constants, which are calculated from the sum of the individual rate constants, are in good agreement with the experimental data. The calculated temperature dependence of the branching fractions indicates that for the title reaction, H-abstraction reaction is the major reaction channel in the whole temperature range 298-5000 K.     

Mechanistic and kinetic study of the O + CH2OH reaction

The mechanism for the O + CH2OH reaction was investigated by various ab initio quantum chemistry methods. For the chemical activation mechanism, that is, the addition/elimination path, the couple-cluster methods including CCSD and CCSD(T) were employed with the cc-pVXZ (X = D, T, Q, 5) basis sets. For the abstraction channels, multireference methods including CASSCF, CASPT2, and MRCISD were used with the cc-pVDZ and cc-pVTZ basis sets. It has been shown that the production of H + HCOOH is the major channel in the chemical activation mechanism. The minor channels include HCO + H2O and OH + CH2O. The hydrogen abstraction by an O atom from the CH2OH radical produces either OH + CH2O or OH + HCOH. Moreover, the two abstraction reactions are essentially barrierless processes. The rate constants for the association of O with CH2OH have been calculated using the flexible transition state theory. A weak negative temperature dependence of the rate constants is found in the range 250-1000 K. Furthermore, it is estimated that the abstraction processes also play an important role in the O + CH2OH reaction. Additionally, the falloff behavior for the OCH2OH --> H + HCOOH reaction has been investigated. The present theoretical results are compared to the experimental measurements to understand the mechanism and kinetic behavior of the O + CH2OH reaction and the unimolecular reaction of the OCH2OH radical.     

Relative-rate kinetic study of the reaction of bromine atom with neopentane

The rate coefficient ratio ofk ₁/k ₂=0.83±0.21 has been determined for the reactions Br+neo-C₅H₁₂ (1) and Br+C₂H₆ (2) by applying the relative-rate kinetic method atT=298 K.     

Kinetics of the reactions of chlorine atoms with CH3ONO and CH3ONO2

The kinetics of the reactions of Cl atoms with CH₃ONO and CH₃ONO₂ have been studied using relative rate techniques. In 700 Torr of nitrogen diluent at 295 ± 2K, k(Cl + CH₃ONO) = (2.1 ± 0.2) × 10⁻¹² and k(Cl + CH₃ONO₂) = (2.4 ± 0.2) × 10⁻¹³ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹. The result for k(Cl + CH₃ONO₂) is in good agreement with the literature data. The result for k(Cl + CH₃ONO) is a factor of 4.5 lower than that reported previously. It seems likely that in the previous study most of the loss of CH₃ONO which was attributed to reaction with Cl atoms was actually caused by photolysis leading to an overestimate of k(Cl + CH₃ONO). © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 31: 357–359, 1999     

A kinetic and spectroscopic study of the CH3I-Cl and ICH2I-Cl adducts

Laser-induced fluorescence from the CH3I-Cl and ICH2I-Cl adducts formed in association reactions between chlorine atoms and CH3I and CH2I2 has been observed for the first time. The LIF excitation and dispersed fluorescence spectra have been measured in the range 345-375 nm and 380-480 nm, respectively, at 204 and 296 K. The excitation spectra exhibit vibrational fine structure, and a semiquantitative analysis of the spectra yields a similar binding energy for both adducts of approximately 60 kJ mol(-1). The adduct fluorescence is efficiently quenched by N2 and exhibits a zero-pressure lifetime of approximately 25-30 ns. Using LIF excited from the CH3I-Cl and ICH2I-Cl adducts, the kinetics of the reactions of atomic chlorine with methyl iodide and diiodomethane have been investigated, the results showing that both reactions proceed via two independent channels, an association reaction to form the adduct and a bimolecular abstraction reaction. At T approximately 200 K, the association reaction is predominant, and CH3I-Cl formation is irreversible, with rate coefficients for adduct formation found to be pressure-dependent and in reasonable agreement with the literature. At approximately 200 K, removal of the adduct is dominated by reaction with radical species (CH3 and ClSO) and by self-reaction, which proceed at close to the gas kinetic limit. At 296 K, CH3I-Cl formation is reversible, and the equilibrium constant, K(p) = (70.9 +/- 27.4) x 10(3) atm(-1), was determined, which is in excellent agreement with the literature, and the adduct does not significantly react with CH3I. The uncertainty is at the 95% confidence level (2sigma) and includes systematic errors. At approximately 200 K, the ICH2I-Cl adduct is again stabilized, with pressure-dependent rate coefficients reaching the high pressure limit at lower pressures than for the Cl + CH3I reaction. At room temperature, the ICH2I-Cl adduct is removed via an additional unimolecular decomposition channel, which dominates over the reversible decomposition channel to reform Cl + CH2I2. Neither adduct was observed to undergo significant reaction with molecular oxygen at approximately 200 or 296 K, with an upper limit rate coefficient determined as k < 10(-16) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1).     

A kinetic and product study of the gas-phase reaction of ozone with vinylcyclohexane and methylene cyclohexane

The gas-phase reaction of ozone with vinylcyclohexane and methylene cyclohexane has been investigated at ambient T and p=1 atm of air in the presence of sufficient cyclo-hexane or 2-propanol added to scavenge OH. The reaction rate constants, in units of 10⁻¹⁸ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹, are 7.52±0.97 for vinylcyclohexane (T=292±2 K) and 10.6±1.9 for methylene cyclohexane (T=293±2 K). Carbonyl reaction products were cyclohexyl meth-anal (0.62±0.03) and formaldehyde (0.47±0.04) from vinylcyclohexane and cyclohexanone (0.55±0.10) and formaldehyde (0.60±0.05) from methylene cyclohexane, where the yields given in parentheses are expressed as carbonyl formed, ppb/reacted ozone, ppb. The sum of the yields of the primary carbonyls is close to the value of 1.0 that is consistent with the simple mechanisms: O₃+cyclo(C₆H₁₁)−CH(DOUBLEBOND)CH₂→α(HCHO+cyclo(C₆H₁₁)CHOO)+(1−α)(HCHOO+cyclo(C₆H₁₁)CHO) for vinylcyclohexane and O₃+(CH₂)₅C(DOUBLEBOND)CH₂→α(HCHO +(CH₂)₅COO)+(1−α)(HCHOO+(CH₂)₅C(DOUBLEBOND)O) for methylene cyclohexane. The coefficients α are 0.43±0.10 for vinylcyclohexane and 0.52±0.05 for methylene cyclohexane, i.e., (formaldehyde+the substituted biradical) and (HCHOO+cyclohexyl methanal or cyclo-hexanone) are formed in ca. equal yields. Reaction rate constants, carbonyl yields, and reaction mechanisms are compared to those for alkene structural homologues. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 29: 855–860, 1997     

Computational study of the reaction of CH2(X3B1) with CH3OH

The reaction of triplet methylene with methanol is a key process in alcohol combustion but surprisingly this reaction has never been studied. The reaction mechanism is investigated by using various high-level ab initio methods, including the complete basis set extrapolation (CBS-QB3 and CBS-APNO), the latest Gaussian-n composite method (G4), and the Weizmann-1 method (W1U). A total of five product channels and six transition states are found. The dominant mechanism is direct hydrogen abstraction, and the major product channel is CH(3) + CH(3)O, involving a weak prereactive complex and a 7.4 kcal/mol barrier. The other hydrogen abstraction channel, CH(3) + CH(2)OH, is less important even though it is more exothermic and involves a similar barrier height. The rate coefficients are predicted in the temperature range 200-3000 K. The tunneling effect and the hindered internal rotational freedoms play a key role in the reaction. Moreover, the reaction shows significant kinetic isotope effect.     

Hydrogen/deuterium abstraction by chlorine atoms from gaseous ethyl chlorides. Secondary kinetic isotope effects in the system CH3CH2Cl,CH3CHDCl,CH3CD2Cl

The abstraction of hydrogen/deuterium from CH₃CH₂Cl, CH₃CHDCl, and CH₃CD₂Cl by photochemically generated ground-state chlorine atoms has been investigated over the temperature range of 8–94°C using methane as a competitor. Rate constant data for the following reactions have been obtained: The temperature dependence of the relative rate constants k_i/k_j was found to conform to the Arrhenius rate law, where the stated error limits are one standard deviation: and k_r is the rate constant for the reference reaction (CH₄ + Cl → CH₃ + HCl). The β secondary kinetic isotope effects (k₂/k₃/k₄) are close to unity and show a slight inverse temperature dependence. Both preexponential factors and activation energies decrease as a result of deuterium substitution in the adjacent chloromethyl group. The trends are well outside the limits of experimental error.     

Bond and mode selectivity in the reaction of atomic chlorine with vibrationally excited CH2D2

The title reaction is investigated by co-expanding a mixture of Cl2 and CH2D2 into a vacuum chamber and initiating the reaction by photolyzing Cl2 with linearly polarized 355 nm light. Excitation of the first C-H overtone of CH2D2 leads to a preference for hydrogen abstraction over deuterium abstraction by at least a factor of 20, whereas excitation of the first C-D overtone of CH2D2 reverses this preference by at least a factor of 10. Reactions with CH2D2 prepared in a local mode containing two quanta in one C-H oscillator /2000>- or in a local mode containing one quantum each in two C-H oscillators /1100> lead to products with significantly different rotational, vibrational, and angular distributions, although the vibrational energy for each mode is nearly identical. The Cl+CH2D2/2000>- reaction yields methyl radical products primarily in their ground state, whereas the Cl+CH2D2/1100> reaction yields methyl radical products that are C-H stretch excited. The HCl(v=1) rotational distribution from the Cl+CH2D2/2000>- reaction is significantly hotter than the HCl(v=1) rotational distribution from the Cl+CH2D2/1100> reaction, and the HCl(v=1) differential cross-section (DCS) of the Cl+CH2D2/2000>- reaction is more broadly side scattered than the HCl(v=1) DCS of the Cl+CH2D2/1100> reaction. The results can be explained by a simple spectator model and by noting that the /2000>- mode leads to a wider cone of acceptance for the reaction than the /1100> mode. These measurements represent the first example of mode selectivity observed in a differential cross section, and they demonstrate that vibrational excitation can be used to direct the reaction pathway of the Cl+CH2D2 reaction.     

The reaction of CH3O2 with SO2

Mixtures of Cl₂, CH₄, and O₂ were flash photolyzed at room temperature and pressures of ∽60–760 Torr to produce CH₃O₂. The CH₃O₂ radicals decay by the second-order process with k₆ = (3.7 ± 0.3) × 10^?13 cm³/sec in good agreement with other studies. This value ignores any removal by secondary radicals produced as a result of reaction (6), and therefore the true value might be as much as 30% lower. The value is independent of total pressure or the presence of H₂O vapor. With SO₂ also present, the CH₃O₂ decay becomes pseudo first order at sufficiently high SO₂ pressure which indicates the reaction The value of (8.2 ± 0.5) × 10^?15 cm³/sec at about 1 atm total pressure (mostly CH₄) was found for CH₃O₂ removal by SO₂, in good agreement with another recent measurement. This value can be equated with k₁, unless the products rapidly remove another CH₃O₂ radical, in which case k₁ would be a factor of 2 smaller.     

Theoretical study on the atmospheric reaction of CH3SH with O2

A detailed study on the reaction mechanism of CH₃SH with O₂ was carried out using quantum chemical methods. Eleven singlet pathways and four triplet pathways were found based on CCSD(T)//M06-2x calculations. The nature of chemical bonding evolution was also studied using electron localization function and atoms in molecules analysis. Moreover, reaction rate constants were calculated between 200 and 800 K at the level of the transition state theory by Wigner tunneling correction. The results suggest that the main products should be CH₂SO, H₂O, CH₃OH, SO, CH₄, and SO₂, respectively, basically coinciding with the experimental results. The corresponding feasible pathways are channels R7, R8, and R9, respectively, with an effective energy barrier of 56.21 kJ/mol. Obviously, given the low energy barrier similar to the main paths mentioned above, the products CH₂SH and HO₂ should assume a definite proportion in all possible products, although such species were not yet detected in experiment.     

Canonical variational transition-state theory study of the CF3CH2CH3 + OH reaction

Variational transition-state theory rate constants with multidimensional tunneling contributions using the small curvature method have been calculated for the CF3CH2CH3 (HFC-263fb) + OH reaction over a temperature range from 200 to 373 K. The mPW1B95-41.0 hybrid functional, parametrized by Albu and Swaminathan to generate theoretical rate constants nearly identical to the experimental values for the CH3F + OH reaction, has been used in conjunction with the 6-31+G** basis set to explore the potential energy surface of the title reaction. The good agreement found between theoretical predictions and the experimental data available suggests that the present approach is an excellent option to obtain high-quality results at low computational cost for direct dynamics studies of hydrogen abstraction reactions from complex hydrofluorocarbons. The reliability of the structure activity relationship used to estimate rate constant values for OH reactions with hydrofluorocarbons is also discussed in detail.     

Theoretical study on the atmospheric reaction of CH3O2 with OH

A quantum chemical investigation on the reaction mechanism of CH₃O₂ with OH has been performed. Based on B3LYP and QCISD(T) calculations, seven possible singlet pathways and seven possible triplet pathways have been found. On the singlet potential energy surface (PES), the most favorable channel starts with a barrierless addition of O atom to CH₃O₂ leading to CH₃OOOH and then the O? O bond dissociates to give out CH₃O + HO₂. On the triplet PES, the calculations indicate that the dominant products should be ³CH₂O₂ + H₂O with an energy barrier of 29.95 kJ/mol. The results obtained in this work enrich the theoretical information of the title reaction and provide guidance for analogous atmospheric chemistry reactions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Ab initio study of the potential energy surface and product branching ratios for the reaction of O(1D) with CH3CH2Br

The potential energy surface of O(¹D) + CH₃CH₂Br reaction has been studied using QCISD(T)/6‐311++G(d,p)//MP2/6‐311G(d,p) method. The calculations reveal an insertion‐elimination reaction mechanism of the title reaction. The insertion process has two possibilities: one is the O(¹D) inserting into C? Br bond of CH₃CH₂Br producing one energy‐rich intermediate CH₃CH₂OBr and another is the O(¹D) inserting into one of the C? H bonds of CH₃CH₂Br producing two energy‐rich intermediates, IM1 and IM2. The three intermediates subsequently decompose to various products. The calculations of the branching ratios of various products formed though the three intermediates have been carried out using RRKM theory at the collision energies of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 kcal/mol. CH₃CH₂O + Br are the main decomposition products of CH₃CH₂OBr. CH₃COH + HBr and CH₂CHOH + HBr are the main decomposition products for IM1; CH₂CHOH + HBr are the main decomposition products for IM2. As IM1 is more stable and more likely to form than CH₃CH₂OBr and IM2, CH₃COH + HBr and CH₂CHOH + HBr are probably the main products of the O(¹D) + CH₃CH₂Br reaction. Our computational results can give insight into reaction mechanism and provide probable explanations for future experiments. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011