Chloroacetone photodissociation at 193 nm and the subsequent dynamics of the CH3C(O)CH2 radical--an intermediate formed in the OH + allene reaction en route to CH3 + ketene

We use a combination of crossed laser-molecular beam experiments and velocity map imaging experiments to investigate the primary photofission channels of chloroacetone at 193 nm; we also probe the dissociation dynamics of the nascent CH(3)C(O)CH(2) radicals formed from C-Cl bond fission. In addition to the C-Cl bond fission primary photodissociation channel, the data evidence another photodissociation channel of the precursor, C-C bond fission to produce CH(3)CO and CH(2)Cl. The CH(3)C(O)CH(2) radical formed from C-Cl bond fission is one of the intermediates in the OH + allene reaction en route to CH(3) + ketene. The 193 nm photodissociation laser allows us to produce these CH(3)C(O)CH(2) radicals with enough internal energy to span the dissociation barrier leading to the CH(3) + ketene asymptote. Therefore, some of the vibrationally excited CH(3)C(O)CH(2) radicals undergo subsequent dissociation to CH(3) + ketene products; we are able to measure the velocities of these products using both the imaging and scattering apparatuses. The results rule out the presence of a significant contribution from a C-C bond photofission channel that produces CH(3) and COCH(2)Cl fragments. The CH(3)C(O)CH(2) radicals are formed with a considerable amount of energy partitioned into rotation; we use an impulsive model to explicitly characterize the internal energy distribution. The data are better fit by using the C-Cl bond fission transition state on the S(1) surface of chloroacetone as the geometry at which the impulsive force acts, not the Franck-Condon geometry. Our data suggest that, even under atmospheric conditions, the reaction of OH with allene could produce a small branching to CH(3) + ketene products, rather than solely producing inelastically stabilized adducts. This additional channel offers a different pathway for the OH-initiated oxidation of such unsaturated volatile organic compounds, those containing a C=C=C moiety, than is currently included in atmospheric models.     

Photodissociation of propargyl chloride at 193 nm

The photodissociation of propargyl chloride (C3H3Cl) has been studied at 193 nm. Ion imaging experiments with state-selective detection of the Cl atoms and single-photon ionization of the C3H3 radicals were performed, along with measurements of the Cl + C3H3 and HCl + C3H2 recoil kinetic energy distributions, using a scattering apparatus with electron bombardment ionization detection to resolve the competing Cl and HCl elimination channels. The experiments allow the determination of the Cl (2P3/2) and Cl (2P1/2) (hereafter Cl) branching fractions associated with the C-Cl bond fission, which are determined to be 0.5 +/- 0.1 for both channels. Although prior translational spectroscopy studies by others had concluded that the low velocity signal at the Cl+ mass was due to daughter fragments of the HCl elimination products, the present work shows that Cl atoms are produced with a bimodal recoil kinetic energy distribution. The major C-Cl bond fission channel, with a narrow recoil kinetic energy distribution peaking near 40 kcal/mol, produces both Cl and Cl, whereas the minor (5%) channel, partitioning much less energy to relative kinetic energy, produces only ground spin-orbit state Cl atoms. The maximum internal energy of the radicals produced in the low-recoil-kinetic-energy channel is consistent with this channel producing electronically excited propargyl radicals. Finally, in contrast to previous studies, the present work determines the HCl recoil kinetic energy distribution and identifies the possible contribution to this spectrum from propargyl radicals cracking to C3+ ions in the mass spectrometer.     

Analyzing velocity map images to distinguish the primary methyl photofragments from those produced upon C-Cl bond photofission in chloroacetone at 193 nm

We use a combination of crossed laser-molecular beam scattering experiments and velocity map imaging experiments to investigate the three primary photodissociation channels of chloroacetone at 193 nm: C-Cl bond photofission yielding CH(3)C(O)CH(2) radicals, C-C bond photofission yielding CH(3)CO and CH(2)Cl products, and C-CH(3) bond photofission resulting in CH(3) and C(O)CH(2)Cl products. Improved analysis of data previously reported by our group quantitatively identifies the contribution of this latter photodissociation channel. We introduce a forward convolution procedure to identify the portion of the signal, derived from the methyl image, which results from a two-step process in which C-Cl bond photofission is followed by the dissociation of the vibrationally excited CH(3)C(O)CH(2) radicals to CH(3) + COCH(2). Subtracting this from the total methyl signal identifies the methyl photofragments that result from the CH(3) + C(O)CH(2)Cl photofission channel. We find that about 89% of the chloroacetone molecules undergo C-Cl bond photofission to yield CH(3)C(O)CH(2) and Cl products; approximately 8% result in C-C bond photofission to yield CH(3)CO and CH(2)Cl products, and the remaining 2.6% undergo C-CH(3) bond photofission to yield CH(3) and C(O)CH(2)Cl products.     

193-nm photodissociation of acryloyl chloride to probe the unimolecular dissociation of CH2CHCO radicals and CH2CCO

The work presented here uses photofragment translational spectroscopy to investigate the primary and secondary dissociation channels of acryloyl chloride (CH2==CHCOCl) excited at 193 nm. Three primary channels were observed. Two C-Cl fission channels occur, one producing fragments with high kinetic recoil energies and the other producing fragments with low translational energies. These channels produced nascent CH2CHCO radicals with internal energies ranging from 23 to 66 kcal/mol for the high-translational-energy channel and from 50 to 68 kcal/mol for the low-translational-energy channel. We found that all nascent CH2CHCO radicals were unstable to CH2CH + CO formation, in agreement with the G3//B3LYP barrier height of 22.4 kcal/mol to within experimental and computational uncertainties. The third primary channel is HCl elimination. All of the nascent CH2CCO coproducts were found to have enough internal energy to dissociate, producing CH2C: + CO, in qualitative agreement with the G3//B3LYP barrier of 39.5 kcal/mol. We derive from the experimental results an upper limit of 23 +/- 3 kcal/mol for the zero-point-corrected barrier to the unimolecular dissociation of the CH2CHCO radical to form CH2CH + CO.     

A study of the unimolecular dissociation of the 2-buten-2-yl radical via the 193 nm photodissociation of 2-chloro-2-butene

This work investigates the unimolecular dissociation of the 2-buten-2-yl radical. This radical has three potentially competing reaction pathways: C-C fission to form CH3 + propyne, C-H fission to form H + 1,2-butadiene, and C-H fission to produce H + 2-butyne. The experiments were designed to probe the branching to the three unimolecular dissociation pathways of the radical and to test theoretical predictions of the relevant dissociation barriers. Our crossed laser-molecular beam studies show that 193 nm photolysis of 2-chloro-2-butene produces 2-buten-2-yl in the initial photolytic step. A minor C-Cl bond fission channel forms electronically excited 2-buten-2-yl radicals and the dominant C-Cl bond fission channel produces ground-state 2-buten-2-yl radicals with a range of internal energies that spans the barriers to dissociation of the radical. Detection of the stable 2-buten-2-yl radicals allows a determination of the translational, and therefore internal, energy that marks the onset of dissociation of the radical. The experimental determination of the lowest-energy dissociation barrier gave 31 +/- 2 kcal/mol, in agreement with the 32.8 +/- 2 kcal/mol barrier to C-C fission at the G3//B3LYP level of theory. Our experiments detected products of all three dissociation channels of unstable 2-buten-2-yl as well as a competing HCl elimination channel in the photolysis of 2-chloro-2-butene. The results allow us to benchmark electronic structure calculations on the unimolecular dissociation reactions of the 2-buten-2-yl radical as well as the CH3 + propyne and H + 1,2-butadiene bimolecular reactions. They also allow us to critique prior experimental work on the H + 1,2-butadiene reaction.     

丙烯酰氯分子的气相光解动力学

利用时间分辨傅立叶变换红外(TR-FTIR)发射光谱研究了气相中CH2=CHCOCl分子的光解动力学.观测到振动激发的光解碎片分子CO(ν≤5),HCl(ν≤6),C2H2和相应的两个光解离通道:C-Cl键断裂和HCl消除通道.通过分析转动分辨的红外发射光谱得到CO和HCl的初始振转能量态分布,由此提出CH2=CHCOCl的气相光解机理并阐明了内转换等非绝热过程在影响反应途径中的关键作用.     

Atmospheric chemistry of t-CF3CH=CHCl: products and mechanisms of the gas-phase reactions with chlorine atoms and hydroxyl radicals

FTIR-smog chamber techniques were used to study the products and mechanisms of the Cl atom and OH radical initiated oxidation of trans-3,3,3-trifluoro-1-chloro-propene, t-CF(3)CH=CHCl, in 700 Torr of air or N(2)/O(2) diluent at 296 ± 2 K. The reactions of Cl atoms and OH radicals with t-CF(3)CH=CHCl occur via addition to the >C=C< double bond; chlorine atoms add 15 ± 5% at the terminal carbon and 85 ± 5% at the central carbon, OH radicals add approximately 40% at the terminal carbon and 60% at the central carbon. The major products in the Cl atom initiated oxidation of t-CF(3)CH=CHCl were CF(3)CHClCHO and CF(3)C(O)CHCl(2), minor products were CF(3)CHO, HCOCl and CF(3)COCl. The yields of CF(3)C(O)CHCl(2), CF(3)CHClCOCl and CF(3)COCl increased at the expense of CF(3)CHO, HCOCl and CF(3)CHClCHO as the O(2) partial pressure was increased over the range 10-700 Torr. Chemical activation plays a significant role in the fate of CF(3)CH(O)CHCl(2) and CF(3)CClHCHClO radicals. In addition to reaction with O(2) to yield CF(3)COCl and HO(2) the major competing fate of CF(3)CHClO is Cl elimination to give CF(3)CHO (not C-C bond scission as previously thought). As part of this study k(Cl + CF(3)C(O)CHCl(2)) = (2.3 ± 0.3) × 10(-14) and k(Cl + CF(3)CHClCHO) = (7.5 ± 2.0) × 10(-12) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) were determined using relative rate techniques. Reaction with OH radicals is the major atmospheric sink for t-CF(3)CH=CHCl. Chlorine atom elimination giving the enol CF(3)CH=CHOH appears to be the sole atmospheric fate of the CF(3)CHCHClOH radicals. The yield of CF(3)COOH in the atmospheric oxidation of t-CF(3)CH=CHCl will be negligible (<2%). The results are discussed with respect to the atmospheric chemistry and environmental impact of t-CF(3)CH=CHCl.     

Characterization of the methoxy carbonyl radical formed via photolysis of methyl chloroformate at 193.3 nm

This study investigates two features of interest in recent work on the photolytic production of the methoxy carbonyl radical and its subsequent unimolecular dissociation channels. Earlier studies used methyl chloroformate as a photolytic precursor for the CH3OCO, methoxy carbonyl (or methoxy formyl) radical, which is an intermediate in many reactions that are relevant to combustion and atmospheric chemistry. That work evidenced two competing C-Cl bond fission channels, tentatively assigning them as producing ground- and excited-state methoxy carbonyl radicals. In this study, we measure the photofragment angular distributions for each C-Cl bond fission channel and the spin-orbit state of the Cl atoms produced. The data shows bond fission leading to the production of ground-state methoxy carbonyl radicals with a high kinetic energy release and an angular distribution characterized by an anisotropy parameter, beta, of between 0.37 and 0.64. The bond fission that leads to the production of excited-state radicals, with a low kinetic energy release, has an angular distribution best described by a negative anisotropy parameter. The very different angular distributions suggest that two different excited states of methyl chloroformate lead to the formation of ground- and excited-state methoxy carbonyl products. Moreover, with these measurements we were able to refine the product branching fractions to 82% of the C-Cl bond fission resulting in ground-state radicals and 18% resulting in excited-state radicals. The maximum kinetic energy release of 12 kcal/mol measured for the channel producing excited-state radicals suggests that the adiabatic excitation energy of the radical is less than or equal to 55 kcal/mol, which is lower than the 67.8 kcal/mol calculated by UCCSD(T) methods in this study. The low-lying excited states of methylchloroformate are also considered here to understand the observed angular distributions. Finally, the mechanism for the unimolecular dissociation of the methoxy carbonyl radical to CH3 + CO2, which can occur through a transition state with either cis or, with a much higher barrier, trans geometry, was investigated with natural bond orbital computations. The results suggest donation of electron density from the nonbonding C radical orbital to the sigma* orbital of the breaking C-O bond accounts for the additional stability of the cis transition state.     

Theoretical mechanistic study on the radical-molecule reaction of CHCl2/CCl3 with NO2

The radical-molecule reaction mechanism of CHCl(2) and CCl(3) with NO(2) have been explored theoretically at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) and MC-QCISD (single-point) levels. For the singlet potential energy surface (PES) of CHCl(2) + NO(2) reaction, the association of CHCl(2) with NO(2) was found to be a barrierless carbon-to-nitrogen approach forming an energy-rich adduct a (HCl(2)CNO(2)) followed by isomerization to b(1) (trans-cis-HCl(2)CONO), which can easily interconvert to b(2), b(3), and b(4). Subsequently, the most feasible pathway is the 1,3-chlorine migration associated with N-O1 bond cleavage of b(1) leading to P(1) (CHClO + ClNO). The second competitive pathway is the 1,4-chlorine migration along with N-O1 bond rupture of b(4) giving rise to P(2) (CHClO + ClON). Moreover, some of P(1) and P(2) can further dissociate to give P(6) (CHClO + Cl + NO). The lesser followed competitive channel is the 1,3-H-shift from C to N atom along with N-O1 bond rupture of b(1) to form P(3) (CCl(2)O + HNO). The concerted 1,4-H-shift accompanied by N-O1 bond fission of b(3) to product P(4) (CCl(2)O + HON) is even much less feasible. For the singlet PES of CCl(3) + NO(2) reaction, the only primary product is found to be P(1) (CCl(2)O + ClNO), which can lead to P(2) (CCl(2)O + Cl + NO) via dissociation of ClNO. The obtained major products CHClO and CCl(2)O for CHCl(2) + NO(2) and CCl(3) + NO(2) reactions, respectively, are in good agreement with kinetic detection in experiment. Compared with the singlet pathways, the triplet pathways may have less contributions to both reactions. Because the rate-determining transition state involved in the feasible pathways lie above the reactants R, the title reactions may be important in high-temperature processes. The similarities and discrepancies among the CH(n)Cl(3-n) + NO(2) (n == 0-2) reactions are discussed in terms of the substitution effect. The present study may be helpful for further experimental investigation of the title reactions.     

A complete look at the multi-channel dissociation of propenal photoexcited at 193 nm: branching ratios and distributions of kinetic energy

We observed fifteen photofragments upon photolysis of propenal (acrolein, CH(2)CHCHO) at 193 nm using photofragment translational spectroscopy and selective vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization. All the photoproducts arise from nine primary and two secondary dissociation pathways. We measured distributions of kinetic energy of products and determined branching ratios of dissociation channels. Dissociation to CH(2)CHCO + H and CH(2)CH + HCO are two major primary channels with equivalent branching ratios of 33%. The CH(2)CHCO fragment spontaneously decomposes to CH(2)CH + CO. A proportion of primary products CH(2)CH from the fission of bond C-C of propenal further decompose to CHCH + H but secondary dissociation HCO → H + CO is negligibly small. Binary dissociation to CH(2)CH(2) (or CH(3)CH) + CO and concerted three-body dissociation to C(2)H(2) + CO + H(2) have equivalent branching ratios of 14%-15%. The other channels have individual branching ratios of ～1%. The production of HCCO + CH(3) indicates the formation of intermediate methyl ketene (CH(3)CHCO) and the production of CH(2)CCH + OH and CH(2)CC + H(2)O indicate the formation of intermediate hydroxyl propadiene (CH(2)CCHOH) from isomerization of propenal. Distributions of kinetic energy release and dissociation mechanisms are discussed. This work provides a complete look and profound insight into the multi-channel dissociation mechanisms of propenal. The combination of a molecular beam apparatus and synchrotron VUV ionization allowed us to untangle the complex mechanisms of nine primary and two secondary dissociation channels.     

C-Cl bond fission dynamics and angular momentum recoupling in the 235 nm photodissociation of allyl chloride

The photodissociation dynamics of allyl chloride at 235 nm producing atomic Cl((2)P(J);J=1/2,3/2) fragments is investigated using a two-dimensional photofragment velocity ion imaging technique. Detection of the Cl((2)P(1/2)) and Cl((2)P(3/2)) products by [2+1] resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization shows that primary C-Cl bond fission of allyl chloride generates 66.8% Cl((2)P(3/2)) and 33.2% Cl((2)P(1/2)). The Cl((2)P(3/2)) fragments evidenced a bimodal translational energy distribution with a relative weight of low kinetic energy Cl((2)P(3/2))/high kinetic energy Cl((2)P(3/2)) of 0.097/0.903. The minor dissociation channel for C-Cl bond fission, producing low kinetic energy chlorine atoms, formed only chlorine atoms in the Cl((2)P(3/2)) spin-orbit state. The dominant C-Cl bond fission channel, attributed to an electronic predissociation that results in high kinetic energy Cl atoms, produced both Cl((2)P(1/2)) and Cl((2)P(3/2)) atomic fragments. The relative branching for this dissociation channel is Cl((2)P(1/2))/[Cl((2)P(1/2))+Cl((2)P(3/2))]=35.5%. The average fraction of available energy imparted into product recoil for the high kinetic energy products was found to be 59%, in qualitative agreement with that predicted by a rigid radical impulsive model. Both the spin-orbit ground and excited chlorine atom angular distributions were close to isotropic. We compare the observed Cl((2)P(1/2))/[Cl((2)P(1/2))+Cl((2)P(3/2))] ratio produced in the electronic predissociation channel of allyl chloride with a prior study of the chlorine atom spin-orbit states produced from HCl photodissociation, concluding that angular momentum recoupling in the exit channel at long interatomic distance determines the chlorine atom spin-orbit branching.     

Probing the barrier for CH2CHCO --> CH2CH + CO by the velocity map imaging method

This work determines the dissociation barrier height for CH2CHCO --> CH2CH + CO using two-dimensional product velocity map imaging. The CH2CHCO radical is prepared under collision-free conditions from C-Cl bond fission in the photodissociation of acryloyl chloride at 235 nm. The nascent CH2CHCO radicals that do not dissociate to CH2CH + CO, about 73% of all the radicals produced, are detected using 157-nm photoionization. The Cl(2P(3/2)) and Cl(2P(1/2)) atomic fragments, momentum matched to both the stable and unstable radicals, are detected state selectively by resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization at 235 nm. By comparing the total translational energy release distribution P(E(T)) derived from the measured recoil velocities of the Cl atoms with that derived from the momentum-matched radical cophotofragments which do not dissociate, the energy threshold at which the CH2CHCO radicals begin to dissociate is determined. Based on this energy threshold and conservation of energy, and using calculated C-Cl bond energies for the precursor to produce CH2CHC*O or C*H2CHCO, respectively, we have determined the forward dissociation barriers for the radical to dissociate to vinyl + CO. The experimentally determined barrier for CH2CHC*O --> CH2CH + CO is 21+/-2 kcal mol(-1), and the computed energy difference between the CH2CHC*O and the C*H2CHCO forms of the radical gives the corresponding barrier for C*H2CHCO --> CH2CH + CO to be 23+/-2 kcal mol(-1). This experimental determination is compared with predictions from electronic structure methods, including coupled-cluster, density-functional, and composite Gaussian-3-based methods. The comparison shows that density-functional theory predicts too low an energy for the C*H2CHCO radical, and thus too high a barrier energy, whereas both the Gaussian-3 and the coupled-cluster methods yield predictions in good agreement with experiment. The experiment also shows that acryloyl chloride can be used as a photolytic precursor at 235 nm of thermodynamically stable CH2CHC*O radicals, most with an internal energy distribution ranging from approximately 3 to approximately 21 kcal mol(-1). We discuss the results with respect to the prior work on the O(3P) + propargyl reaction and the analogous O(3P) + allyl system.     

Unimolecular dissociation of the propargyl radical intermediate of the CH+C2H2 and C+C2H3 reactions

This paper examines the unimolecular dissociation of propargyl (HCCCH2) radicals over a range of internal energies to probe the CH+HCCH and C+C2H3 bimolecular reactions from the radical intermediate to products. The propargyl radical was produced by 157 nm photolysis of propargyl chloride in crossed laser-molecular beam scattering experiments. The H-loss and H2 elimination channels of the nascent propargyl radicals were observed. Detection of stable propargyl radicals gave an experimental determination of 71.5 (+5-10) kcal/mol as the lowest barrier to dissociation of the radical. This barrier is significantly lower than predictions for the lowest barrier to the radical's dissociation and also lower than calculated overall reaction enthalpies. Products from both H2+HCCC and H+C3H2 channels were detected at energies lower than what has been theoretically predicted. An HCl elimination channel and a minor C-H fission channel were also observed in the photolysis of propargyl chloride.     

Insights into mechanistic photodissociation of acetyl chloride by ab initio calculations and molecular dynamics simulations

The potential energy surfaces of dissociation and elimination reactions for CH(3)COCl in the ground (S0) and first excited singlet (S1) states have been mapped with the different ab inito calculations. Mechanistic photodissociation of CH(3)COCl has been characterized through the intrinsic reaction coordinate and ab initio molecular dynamics calculations. The alpha-C-C bond cleavage along the S1 pathway leads to the fragments of COCl((2)A' ') and CH(3) ((2)A') in an excited electronic state and a high barrier exists on the pathway. This channel is inaccessible in energy upon photoexcitation of the CH(3)COCl molecules at 236 nm. The S1 alpha-C-Cl bond cleavage yields the Cl((2)P) and CH(3)CO(X(2)A') fragments in the ground state and there is very small or no barrier on the pathway. The S1 alpha-C-Cl bond cleavage proceeds in a time scale of picosecond in the gas phase, followed by CH(3)CO decomposition to CH(3) and CO. The barrier to the C-Cl bond cleavage on the S1 surface is significantly increased by effects of the argon matrix. The S1 alpha-C-Cl bond cleavage in the argon matrix becomes inaccessible in energy upon photoexcitation of CH(3)COCl at 266 nm. In this case, the excited CH(3)COCl(S1) molecules cannot undergo the C-Cl bond cleavage in a short period. The internal conversion from S1 to S0 becomes the dominant process for the CH(3)COCl(S1) molecules in the condensed phase. As a result, the direct HCl elimination in the ground state becomes the exclusive channel upon 266 nm photodissociation of CH(3)COCl in the argon matrix at 11 K.     

A 193 nm laser photofragmentation time-of-flight mass spectrometric study of chloroiodomethane

The photodissociation dynamics of chloroiodomethane (CH2ICl) at 193 nm has been investigated by employing the photofragment time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometric method. Using tunable vacuum ultraviolet undulator synchrotron radiation for photoionization sampling of nascent photofragments, we have identified four primary dissociation product channels: CH2Cl + I(2P(1/2))/I(2P(3/2)), CH2I + Cl(2P(1/2))/Cl(2P(3/2)), CHI + HCl, and CH2 + ICl. The state-selective detection of I(2P(3/2)) and I(2P(1/2)) has allowed the estimation of the branching ratio for I(2P(1/2)):I(2P(3/2)) to be 0.73:0.27. Theoretical calculations based on the time-dependent density-functional theory have been also made to investigate excited electronic potential-energy surfaces, plausible intermediates, and transition structures involved in these photodissociation reactions. The translation energy distributions derived from the TOF measurements suggest that at least two dissociation mechanisms are operative for these photodissociation processes. One involves the direct dissociation from the 2 1A' state initially formed by 193 nm excitation, leading to significant kinetic-energy releases. For the I-atom and Cl-atom elimination channels, the fragment kinetic-energy releases observed via this direct dissociation mechanism are consistent with those predicted by the impulsive dissociation models. Other mechanisms are likely predissociative or statistical in nature from the lower 1 1A' and 1 1A' states and/or the ground X 1A' state populated by internal conversion from the 2 1A' state. On the basis of the maximum kinetic-energy release for the formation of CH2Cl + I(2P(1/2)), we have obtained a value of 53+/-2 kcal/mol for the 0 K bond dissociation energy of I-CH2Cl. The intermediates and transition structures for the CHI + HCl and CH2 + ICl product channels have been also investigated by ab initio quantum calculations at the MP2(full)/6-311G(d) and B3LYP(full)/6-11G(d) levels of theory. The maximum kinetic-energy releases observed for the CHI + HCl and CH2 + ICl channels are consistent with the interpretation that the formation of CHI and CH2 in their ground triplet states is not favored.     

Theoretical dynamic studies on the reactions of CH3C(O)CH3-nCl(n) (n = 0-3) with the chlorine atom

The theoretical investigations were performed on the reaction mechanisms for the title reactions CH(3)C(O)CH(3) + Cl --> products (R1), CH(3)C(O)CH(2)Cl + Cl --> products (R2), CH(3)C(O)CHCl(2) + Cl --> products (R3), and CH(3)C(O)CCl(3) + Cl --> products (R4) by ab initio direct dynamics approach. Two different reaction channels have been found: abstract of the H atom from methyl (--CH(3)) group or chloromethyl (--CH(3-n)Cl(n)) group of chloroacetone and addition of a Cl atom to the carbon atom of the carbonyl group of chloroacetone followed by methyl or chloromethyl eliminations. Because of the higher potential energy barrier, the contribution of addition-elimination reaction pathway to the total rate constants is very small and thus this pathway is insignificant in atmospheric conditions. The rate constants for the H-abstraction reaction channels are evaluated by using canonical variational transition state theory incorporating with the small-curvature tunneling correction. Theoretical overall rate constants are in good agreement with the available experimental values and decrease in the order of k(1) > k(2) > k(3) > k(4). The results indicate that for halogenated acetones the substitution of halogen atom (F or Cl) leads to the decrease in the C--H bond reactivity and more decrease of reactivity is caused by F-substitution.     

Insights into photodissociation dynamics of propionyl chloride from ab initio calculations and molecular dynamics simulations

The potential energy surfaces of isomerization, dissociation, and elimination reactions for CH3CH2COCl in the S0 and S1 states have been mapped with the different ab initio calculations. Mechanistic photodissociation of CH3CH2COCl at 266 nm has been characterized through the computed potential energy surfaces, the optimized surface crossing structure, intrinsic reaction coordinate, and ab initio molecular dynamics calculations. Photoexcitation at 266 nm leads to the CH3CH2COCl molecules in the S1 state. From this state, the C-Cl bond cleavage proceeds in a time scale of picosecond in the gas phase. The barrier to the C-Cl bond cleavage on the S1 surface is significantly increased by effects of the matrix and the internal conversion to the ground state prevails in the condensed phase. The HCl eliminations as a result of internal conversion to the ground state become the dominant channel upon photodissociation of CH3CH2COCl in the argon matrix at 10 K.     

Gas-phase carbene radical anions: new mechanistic insights

The gas-phase reactivity of the CHCl*- anion has been investigated with a series of halomethanes (CCl4, CHCl3, CH2Cl2, and CH3Cl) using a FA-SIFT instrument. Results show that this anion primarily reacts via substitution and by proton transfer. In addition, the reactions of CHCl*- with CHCl3 and CH2Cl2 form minor amounts of Cl2*- and Cl-. The isotopic distribution of these two products is consistent with an insertion-elimination mechanism, where the anion inserts into a C-Cl bond to form an unstable intermediate, which eliminates either Cl2*- or Cl- and Cl*. Neutral and cationic carbenes are known to insert into single bonds; however, this is the first observation of such reactivity for carbene anions.     

Unimolecular reactions in the CF3CH2Cl ↔ CF2ClCH2F system: isomerization by interchange of Cl and F atoms

The recombination of CF(2)Cl and CH(2)F radicals was used to prepare CF(2)ClCH(2)F* molecules with 93 ± 2 kcal mol(-1) of vibrational energy in a room temperature bath gas. The observed unimolecular reactions in order of relative importance were: (1) 1,2-ClH elimination to give CF(2)═CHF, (2) isomerization to CF(3)CH(2)Cl by the interchange of F and Cl atoms and (3) 1,2-FH elimination to give E- and Z-CFCl═CHF. Since the isomerization reaction is 12 kcal mol(-1) exothermic, the CF(3)CH(2)Cl* molecules have 105 kcal mol(-1) of internal energy and they can eliminate HF to give CF(2)═CHCl, decompose by rupture of the C-Cl bond, or isomerize back to CF(2)ClCH(2)F. These data, which provide experimental rate constants, are combined with previously published results for chemically activated CF(3)CH(2)Cl* formed by the recombination of CF(3) and CH(2)Cl radicals to provide a comprehensive view of the CF(3)CH(2)Cl* ? CF(2)ClCH(2)F* unimolecular reaction system. The experimental rate constants are matched to calculated statistical rate constants to assign threshold energies for the observed reactions. The models for the molecules and transition states needed for the rate constant calculations were obtained from electronic structures calculated from density functional theory. The previously proposed explanation for the formation of CF(2)═CHF in thermal and infrared multiphoton excitation studies of CF(3)CH(2)Cl, which was 2,2-HCl elimination from CF(3)CH(2)Cl followed by migration of the F atom in CF(3)CH, should be replaced by the Cl/F interchange reaction followed by a conventional 1,2-ClH elimination from CF(2)ClCH(2)F. The unimolecular reactions are augmented by free-radical chemistry initiated by reactions of Cl and F atoms in the thermal decomposition of CF(3)CH(2)Cl and CF(2)ClCH(2)F.     

Theoretical study on the mechanism of the 1CHCl + NO reaction

The complex doublet potential energy surface of the CHClNO system, including 31 minimum isomers and 84 transition states, is investigated at the QCISD(T)/6-311G(d, p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d, p) level in order to explore the possible reaction mechanism of the singlet CHCl with NO. Various possible isomerization and dissociation channels are probed. The initial association between 1CHCl and NO at the terminal N-site can almost barrierlessly lead to the chainlike adducts HClCNO a (a1, a2) followed by the direct Cl-extrusion to product P9 Cl + HCNO, which is the most feasible channel. Much less competitively, a (a1, a2) undergoes a ring-closure leading to the cyclic isomer c-C(HCl)NO d followed by a concerted Cl-shift and N-O cleavage of d to form the branched isomers ClNC(H)O f (f1, f2). Eventually, f (f1, f2) may take a direct H-extrusion to produce P7 H + ClNCO or a concerted 1,2-H-shift and Cl-extrusion to form P1 Cl + HNCO. The low-lying products P2 HCl + NCO, P3 Cl + HOCN, P14 HCO + 3NCl, P6 ClO + HCN, and P13 ClNC + OH may have the lowest yields observed. Our calculations show that the product distributions of the title reaction are quite different from those of the analogous 1CHF + NO reaction, yet are similar to those of another analogous 3CH2 + NO reaction. The similarities and discrepancies among the three reactions are discussed in terms of the substitution effect. The present article may assist in future experimental identification of the product distributions for the title reaction and may be helpful for understanding the halogenated carbene chemistry.