Reaction dynamics of OH+(3Sigma-)+C2H2 studied with crossed beams and density functional theory calculations

The reactions between OH+(3Sigma-) and C2H2 have been studied using crossed ion and molecular beams and density functional theory calculations. Both charge transfer and proton transfer channels are observed. Products formed by carbon-carbon bond cleavage analogous to those formed in the isoelectronic O(3P)+C2H2 reaction, e.g., 3CH2 + HCO+, are not observed. The center of mass flux distributions of both product ions at three different energies are highly asymmetric, with maxima close to the velocity and direction of the precursor acetylene beam, characteristic of direct reactions. The internal energy distributions of the charge transfer products are independent of collision energy and are peaked at the reaction exothermicity, inconsistent with either the existence of favorable Franck-Condon factors or energy resonance. In proton transfer, almost the entire reaction exothermicity is transformed into product internal excitation, consistent with mixed energy release in which the proton is transferred with both the breaking and forming bonds extended. Most of the incremental translational energy in the two higher-energy experiments appears in product translational energy, providing an example of induced repulsive energy release.     

Reactivity index based on orbital energies

This study shows that the chemical reactivities depend on the orbital energy gaps contributing to the reactions. In the process where a reaction only makes progress through charge transfer with the minimal structural transformation of the reactant, the orbital energy gap gradient (OEGG) between the electron‐donating and electron‐accepting orbitals is proven to be very low. Using this relation, a normalized reaction diagram is constructed by plotting the normalized orbital energy gap with respect to the normalized intrinsic reaction coordinate. Application of this reaction diagram to 43 fundamental reactions showed that the majority of the forward reactions provide small OEGGs in the initial stages, and therefore, the initial processes of the forward reactions are supposed to proceed only through charge transfer. Conversely, more than 60% of the backward reactions are found to give large OEGGs implying very slow reactions associated with considerable structural transformations. Focusing on the anti‐activation‐energy reactions, in which the forward reactions have higher barriers than those of the backward ones, most of these reactions are shown to give large OEGGs for the backward reactions. It is also found that the reactions providing large OEGGs in the forward directions inconsistent with the reaction rate constants are classified into S_N2, symmetric, and methyl radical reactions. Interestingly, several large‐OEGG reactions are experimentally established to get around the optimum pathways. This indicates that the reactions can take significantly different pathways from the optimum ones provided no charge transfer proceeds spontaneously without the structural transformations of the reactants. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Experimental studies of charge transfer reactions between argon and the third row metals calcium through copper in the inductively coupled plasma

The effect of charge transfer reactions on analyte excitation and ionization in the inductively coupled plasma was studied by two independent techniques. In one technique, pulsed lasers were used to either deplete the ground state of neutral analyte atoms or enhance the population of selected states of the singly charged ion. In both cases the perturbed species were collision partners with argon in potential charge transfer reactions. The effects of charge transfer collisions could be detected in the form of changes in emission from product species. In the second technique, a simple correlation method was used to detect the link via charge transfer of neutral atom ground states and highly excited ionic levels. In the presence of charge transfer collisions, the populations of such linked levels show strong positive correlations. The two techniques were used to study the effects of charge transfer reactions on the third row elements Ca–Cu. With the exception of Cr and Mn, all of the elements studied showed positive evidence of excitation and ionization by charge transfer collision with argon.     

Hydride transfer reaction dynamics of OD+ +C3H6

The hydride transfer reaction between OD+ and C3H6 has been studied experimentally and theoretically over the center of mass collision energy range from 0.21 to 0.92 eV using the crossed beam technique and density functional theory calculations. The center of mass flux distributions of the product ions at three different energies are highly asymmetric, with maxima close to the velocity and direction of the precursor propylene beam, characteristic of direct reactions. In the hydride transfer process, the entire reaction exothermicity is transformed into product internal excitation, consistent with mixed energy release in which the hydride ion is transferred with both the breaking and forming bonds extended. At higher collision energies, at least 85% of the incremental translational energy appears in product translation, providing a clear example of induced repulsive energy release. Compared to the related reaction of OD+ with C2H4, reaction along the pathway initiated by addition of OD+ to the C=C bond in propylene has a critical bottleneck caused by the torsional motion of the methyl substituent on the double bond. This bottleneck suppresses reaction through an intermediate complex in favor of direct hydride abstraction. Hydride abstraction appears to be a sequential process initiated by electron transfer in the triplet manifold, followed by rapid intersystem crossing and subsequent hydrogen atom transfer to form ground state allyl cation and HOD.     

Experimental and theoretical studies of charge transfer and deuterium ion transfer between D2O+ and C2H4

The charge transfer and deuterium ion transfer reactions between D(2)O(+) and C(2)H(4) have been studied using the crossed beam technique at relative collision energies below one electron volt and by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Both direct and rearrangement charge transfer processes are observed, forming C(2)H(4) (+) and C(2)H(3)D(+), respectively. Independent of collision energy, deuterium ion transfer accounts for approximately 20% of the reactive collisions. Between 22 and 36 % of charge transfer collisions occur with rearrangement. In both charge transfer processes, comparison of the internal energy distributions of products with the photoelectron spectrum of C(2)H(4) shows that Franck-Condon factors determine energy disposal in these channels. DFT calculations provide evidence for transient intermediates that undergo H/D migration with rearrangement, but with minimal modification of the product energy distributions determined by long range electron transfer. The cross section for charge transfer with rearrangement is approximately 10(3) larger than predicted from the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus isomerization rate in transient complexes, suggesting a nonstatistical mechanism for H/D exchange. DFT calculations suggest that reactive trajectories for deuterium ion transfer follow a pathway in which a deuterium atom from D(2)O(+) approaches the pi-cloud of ethylene along the perpendicular bisector of the C-C bond. The product kinetic energy distributions exhibit structure consistent with vibrational motion of the D-atom in the bridged C(2)H(4)D(+) product perpendicular to the C-C bond. The reaction quantitatively transforms the reaction exothermicity into internal excitation of the products, consistent with mixed energy release in which the deuterium ion is transferred in a configuration in which both the breaking and the forming bonds are extended.     

A low-energy crossed-beam study of the hydride abstraction and charge transfer reactions of C+ with CH3OH

We present a study of the hydride abstraction and charge transfer reactions of C⁺ with CH₃OH in the relative energy range from 1.2 to 2.8 eV. Both reaction processes are direct in this collision energy range. The charge transfer reaction proceeds through large impact parameter collisions; the kinetic energy distributions indicate that the final product vibrational states are energy resonant with the recombination energy of the carbon cation. The hydride abstraction channel is a stripping reaction in which the product kinetic energy distributions have an unusual Gaussian shape, suggestive of the projection of the ground vibrational state wavefunction for the breaking C-H bond onto the continuum wavefunction associated with separation of the nascent products.     

Energy gap law of electron transfer in nonpolar solvents

We investigate the energy gap law of electron transfer in nonpolar solvents for charge separation and charge recombination reactions. In polar solvents, the reaction coordinate is given in terms of the electrostatic potentials from solvent permanent dipoles at solutes. In nonpolar solvents, the energy fluctuation due to solvent polarization is absent, but the energy of the ion pair state changes significantly with the distance between the ions as a result of the unscreened strong Coulomb potential. The electron transfer occurs when the final state energy coincides with the initial state energy. For charge separation reactions, the initial state is a neutral pair state, and its energy changes little with the distance between the reactants, whereas the final state is an ion pair state and its energy changes significantly with the mutual distance; for charge recombination reactions, vice versa. We show that the energy gap law of electron-transfer rates in nonpolar solvents significantly depends on the type of electron transfer.     

Charge transfer dynamics of donor-acceptor systems in solutions and sol-gel matrices

Charge transfer reactions are photoinduced by exciting with UV and visible light strongly coupled donor acceptor pairs. The systems investigated are composed either of porphyrin and phthalocyanine mixed dimers. In this case, the proton transfer competes with the electron transfer process.The results obtained in sol-gel matrices are compared to the ones in solutions and organized media, and discussed in terms of the effect of the confinement of the reactants and degree of organization of the environment on the efficiency of charge transfer reactions.     

Electrochemical and spectral properties of hexacoordinate polypyridyl silicon complexes

Various salts of tetracationic tris(2,2′-bipyridine)silicon(IV) and bis(2,2′;6′,2″-terpyridine)silicon(IV) were synthesized by reaction of SiI₄ with the appropriate ligand followed by metathesis reactions. The resulting salts exhibit multiple, chemically reversible one-electron reduction waves that are significantly shifted to less negative reduction potentials than the corresponding ruthenium analogs. The salts also exhibit anion dependent ion pair charge transfer bands throughout the visible spectrum. Weak, low energy emission is observed from Si(bipy)₃Br₄ and Si(terpy)₂Br₄ in the solid state at 77 K when the sample is excited in the ion pair charge transfer band.     

Reactions of N+, N2+, and N3+ with NO from 300 to 1400 K

Rate constants have been measured from 300 to 1400 K in a selected ion flow tube (SIFT) and a high temperature flowing afterglow for the reactions of N+, N2+ and N3+ with NO. In all of the systems, the rate constants are substantially less than the collision rate constant. Comparing the high temperature results to kinetics studies as a function of translational energy show that all types of energy (translational, rotational, and vibrational) affect the reactivity approximately equally for all three ions. Branching ratios have also been measured at 300 and 500 K in a SIFT for the N+ and N3+ reactions. An increase in the N2+ product at the expense of NO+ nondissociative charge transfer product occurs at 500 K with N+. The branching ratios for the reaction of N3+ with NO have also been measured in the SIFT, showing that only nondissociative charge transfer giving NO+ occurs up to 500 K. The current results are discussed in the context of the many previous studies of these ions in the literature.     

Vibrational mode and collision energy effects on reaction of H2CO+ with C2H2: charge state competition and the role of Franck-Condon factors in endoergic charge transfer

The effects of collision energy (E(col)) and six different H(2)CO(+) vibrational states on the title reaction have been studied over the center-of-mass E(col) range from 0.1 to 2.6 eV, including measurements of product ion recoil velocity distributions. Ab initio and Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus calculations were used to examine the properties of complexes and transition states that might be important in mediating the reaction. Reaction is largely direct, despite the presence of multiple deep wells on the potential surface. Five product channels are observed, with a total reaction cross section at the collision limit. The competition among the major H(2) (+) transfer, hydrogen transfer, and proton transfer channels is strongly affected by E(col) and H(2)CO(+) vibrational excitation, providing insight into the factors that control competition and charge state "unmixing" during product separation. One of the more interesting results is that endoergic charge transfer appears to be controlled by Franck-Condon factors, implying that it occurs at large inter-reactant separations, contrary to the expectation that endoergic reactions should require intimate collisions to drive the necessary energy conversion.     

Dynamics study of the reaction OH- + C2H2-->C2H- + H2O with crossed beams and density-functional theory calculations

The proton transfer reaction between OH- and C2H2, the sole reactive process observed over the collision energy range from 0.37 to 1.40 eV, has been studied using the crossed beam technique and density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. The center of mass flux distributions of the product C2H- ions at three different energies are highly asymmetric, characteristic of a direct process occurring on a time scale much less than a rotational period of any transient intermediate. The maxima in the flux distributions correspond to product velocities and directions close to those of the precursor acetylene reactants. The reaction quantitatively transforms the entire exothermicity into internal excitation of the products, consistent with an energy release motif in which the proton is transferred early, in a configuration in which the forming bond is extended. This picture is supported by DFT calculations showing that the first electrostatically bound intermediate on the reaction pathway is the productlike C2H- H2O species. Most of the incremental translational energy in the two higher collision energy experiments appears in product translational energy, and provides an example of induced repulsive energy release characteristic of the heavy+light-heavy mass combination.     

Imaging ion-molecule reactions: charge transfer and C-N bond formation in the C(+) + NH3 system

The velocity mapping ion imaging method is applied to the ion-molecule reactions occurring between C(+) and NH(3). The velocity space images are collected over the relative collision energy range from 1.5 to 3.3 eV, allowing both product kinetic energy distributions and angular distributions to be obtained from the data. The charge transfer process appears to be direct, dominated by long-range electron transfer that results in minimal deflection of the products. The product kinetic energy distributions are consistent with a process dominated by energy resonance. The kinetic energy distributions for C-N bond formation appear to scale with the total available energy, providing strong evidence that energy in the [CNH(3)](+) precursor to products is distributed statistically. The angular distributions for C-N bond formation show pronounced forward-backward symmetry, as expected for a complex that resembles a prolate symmetric top decaying along its symmetry axis.     

Bound Electron Enhanced Radiosensitisation of Nimorazole upon Charge Transfer

This novel work reports nimorazole (NIMO) radiosensitizer reduction upon electron transfer in collisions with neutral potassium (K) atoms in the lab frame energy range of 10–400 eV. The negative ions formed in this energy range were time-of-flight mass analyzed and branching ratios were obtained. Assignment of different anions showed that more than 80% was due to the formation of the non-dissociated parent anion NIMO^•− at 226 u and nitrogen dioxide anion NO₂⁻ at 46 u. The rich fragmentation pattern revealed that significant collision induced the decomposition of the 4-nitroimidazole ring, as well as other complex internal reactions within the temporary negative ion formed after electron transfer to neutral NIMO. Other fragment anions were only responsible for less than 20% of the total ion yield. Additional information on the electronic state spectroscopy of nimorazole was obtained by recording a K⁺ energy loss spectrum in the forward scattering direction (θ ≈ 0°), allowing us to determine the most accessible electronic states within the temporary negative ion. Quantum chemical calculations on the electronic structure of NIMO in the presence of a potassium atom were performed to help assign the most significant lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals participating in the collision process. Electron transfer was shown to be a relevant process for nimorazole radiosensitisation through efficient and prevalent non-dissociated parent anion formation.     

Reactions of the dications C7H6, C7H7, and C7H8 with methane: Predominance of doubly charged intermediates

The reactions of methane with the dications C₇H₆²⁺, C₇H₇²⁺, and C₇H₈²⁺ generated by electron ionization of toluene are studied using mass-spectrometry tools. It is shown that the reactivity is dominated by the formation of doubly charged intermediates, which can either eliminate molecular hydrogen to yield doubly charged products or undergo charge-separation reactions leading to the formation of a methyl cation and the corresponding C₇H_n+1⁺ monocation. Typical processes observed for dications, like electron transfer or proton transfer, are largely suppressed. The theoretically derived mechanism of the reaction between C₇H₆²⁺ and CH₄ indicates that the formation of the doubly charged intermediate is kinetically preferred at low internal energies of the reactants. In agreement, the experimental results show a pronounced hydrogen scrambling and dominant formation of the doubly charged products at low collision energies, whereas direct hydride transfer prevails at larger collision energies.     

Crossed-Molecular beam studies of the state-to-state reaction dynamics of charge transfer at low and intermediate energy

The microscopic, state-to-state reaction dynamics of charge transfer reactions are reviewed for the two system N(N₂, N₂)N and Ar⁺(N₂, Ar)N. The crossed molecular beam method demonstrates that the symmetric, molecular case proceeds by two mechanisms at low collision energy (< 0.7 eV). One of these involves an orbiting complex in which the total available energy is redistributed, essentially statistically. The second mechanism is a direct mechanism which involves nearly rectilinear trajectories and corresponds to exactly resonant charge transfer at low energy (0.7 eV) and charge transfer accompanied by vibrational excitation at higher energy (> 10 eV). The orbiting mechanism is dominant at low energies and disappears entirely with increasing collision energy. The unsymmetric, nearly resonant charge transfer reaction is direct at all energies. At very low collision energy (0.6 eV) and moderate collision energy (> 1.5 eV) the dominant reaction channel is the generation of N₂⁺(X² g, v = 1) with little rotational excitation. At 0.6 eV substantial angular scattering (including back-scattering) is observed; above 1.5 eV the trajectories are essentially rectilinear. At intermediate energies (0.8 < E < 1.3 eV) a very different mechanism is observed. All the energetically accessible vibrational states of N are formed, each with a preferred scattering angle at a given energy. Related experiments and theoretical models which rationalize some, but not all, of these results are described. The most intriguing puzzle is the “energy window” in which quantum-state specific, angular-specific reactive scattering is observed.     

Collision energy transfer in collision of NH(4) (+)(NH(3))(n-1) (n=3-9) with ND(3)

An incorporation of ND(3) into protonated ammonia cluster ions NH(4)(+)(NH(3))(n-1) (n=3-9), together with a dissociation of the cluster ions, was observed in the collision of the cluster with ND(3) at collision energies ranging from 0.04 to 1.4 eV in the center-of-mass frame. The branching fractions of the cluster ion species produced in the reactions were obtained as a function of the collision energy. The branching fractions of the incorporation products were successfully explained in terms of the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel (RRK) theory at collision energies lower than the binding energy of the cluster ion. In addition, the internal energy distributions of the parent cluster ions were determined, and found to be in good agreement with those predicted using the evaporative ensemble model. In incorporations at collision energies lower than the binding energy of the cluster ion, all of the collision energy was transferred to the internal energy of the cluster ions; subsequently, an evaporation of ammonia molecules occurred in an equilibrium process after a complete energy redistribution in the clusters. In contrast, at collision energies higher than the binding energy of the cluster ion, a release of an ammonia molecule from the incorporation products occurred in a nonequilibrium process. The transition from the complex mode to the direct mode in the incorporation was observed at collision energies approximately equal to the binding energy. On the other hand, the collision energy dependence of the cross sections for the dissociation and for a nonreactive collision were estimated by a RRK simulation in which the collision energy transfer was interpreted by using the classical hard-sphere collision model. A relationship between reactivity and reaction modes in the collision of NH(4)(+)(NH(3))(4) with ND(3) is discussed via a comparison of the experimental results with the RRK simulation.     

Dipolar DC induced collisional activation of non‐dissociated electron‐transfer products

The application of electron transfer and dipolar direct current induced collisional activation (ET‐DDC) for enhanced sequence coverage of peptide/protein cations is described. A DDC potential is applied across one pair of opposing rods in the high‐pressure collision cell of a hybrid quadrupole/time‐of‐flight tandem mass spectrometer (QqTOF) to induce collisional activation, in conjunction with electron transfer reactions. As a broadband technique, DDC can be employed for the simultaneous collisional activation of all the first‐generation charge‐reduced precursor ions (eg, electron transfer no‐dissociation or ETnoD products) from electron transfer reactions over a relatively broad mass‐to‐charge range. A systematic study of ET‐DDC induced collision activation on peptide/protein cations revealed an increase in the variety (and abundances) of sequence informative fragment ions, mainly c‐ and z‐type fragment ions, relative to products derived directly via electron transfer dissociation (ETD). Compared with ETD, which has low dissociation efficiency for low‐charge‐state precursor ions, ET‐DDC also showed marked improvement, providing a sequence coverage of 80% to 85% for all the charge states of ubiquitin. Overall, this method provides a simple means for the broadband collisional activation of ETnoD ions in the same collision cell in which they are generated for improved structural characterization of polypeptide and protein cations subjected to ETD.     

Chemi-luminescence measurements of hyperthermal Xe+/Xe2+ + NH3 reactions

Luminescence spectra are recorded for the reactions of Xe(+) + NH(3) and Xe(2+) + NH(3) at energies ranging from 11.5 to 206 eV in the center-of-mass (E(cm)) frame. Intense features of the luminescence spectra are attributed to the NH (A (3)Π(i)-X (3)Σ(-)), hydrogen Balmer series, and Xe I emission observable for both primary ions. Evidence for charge transfer products is only found through Xe I emission for both primary ions and NH(+) emission for Xe(2+) primary ions. For both primary ions, the absolute NH (A-X) cross section increases with collision energy before leveling off at a constant value, approximately 9 × 10(-18) cm(2), at about 50 eV while H-α emission increases linearly with collision energy. The nascent NH (A) populations derived from the spectral analysis are found to be independent of collision energy and have a constant rotational temperature of 4200 K.