Imaging the Reaction Dynamics of O(3P)+CH4→OH+CH3

The title reaction was studied in a crossed‐beam experiment, in which the ground‐state methyl products were probed using a time‐sliced velocity‐imaging technique. By taking images over the energy range of chemical significance, from the threshold to about 15 kcal mol^?1, the reactive excitation function as well as the dependences of product angular distributions and of the energy disposal on initial collision energies were determined. All experimental data are consistent with the picture that the ground‐state reaction of O(³P)+CH₄ proceeds via a direct abstraction rebound‐type mechanism with a narrow cone of acceptance. Deeper insights into the underlying mechanism and the key feature of the potential‐energy surface are elucidated by comparing the results with the corresponding observables in the analogous Cl+CH₄ reaction.     

Real wave packet and flux analysis studies of the H + F2 → HF + F reaction

The H + F₂ → HF + F reaction on ground state potential energy surface is investigated using the quantum mechanical real wave packet and Flux analysis method based on centrifugal sudden approximation. The initial state selected reaction probabilities for total angular momentum J = 0 have been calculated by both methods while the probabilities for J > 0 have been calculated by Flux analysis method. The initial state selected reaction probabilities, integral cross sections and rate coefficients have been calculated for a broad range of collision energy. The results show a large rotational enhancement of the reaction probability. Some resonances were seen in the state‐to‐state reaction probabilities while state‐to‐all reaction probabilities and the reaction cross section do not manifest any oscillations and the initial state selected reaction rate constants are sensitive to the temperature. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012     

Ligand Effects on the Mechanisms of Thermal Bond Activation in the Gas‐Phase Reactions NiX+/CH4→Ni(CH3)+/HX (X=H,CH3, OH,F). Short Communication

The thermal ion‐molecule reactions NiX⁺+CH₄→Ni(CH₃)⁺+HX (X=H, CH₃, OH, F) have been studied by mass spectrometric methods, and the experimental data are complemented by density functional theory (DFT)‐based computations. With regard to mechanistic aspects, a rather coherent picture emerges such that, for none of the systems studied, oxidative addition/reductive elimination pathways are involved. Rather, the energetically most favored variant corresponds to a σ‐complex‐assisted metathesis (σ‐CAM). For X=H and CH₃, the ligand exchange follows a ‘two‐state reactivity (TSR)’ scenario such that, in the course of the thermal reaction, a twofold spin inversion, i.e., triplet→singlet→triplet, is involved. This TSR feature bypasses the energetically high‐lying transition state of the adiabatic ground‐state triplet surface. In contrast, for X=F, the exothermic ligand exchange proceeds adiabatically on the triplet ground state, and some arguments are proposed to account for the different behavior of NiX⁺/Ni(CH₃)⁺ (X=H, CH₃) vs. NiF⁺. While the couple Ni(OH)⁺/CH₄ does not undergo a thermal ligand switch, the DFT computations suggest a potential‐energy surface that is mechanistically comparable to the NiF⁺/CH₄ system. Obviously, the ligands X act as a mechanistic distributor to switch between single vs. two‐state reactivity patterns.     

Type‐I Dyotropic Reactions: Understanding Trends in Barriers

To understand the factors that control the activation barrier of type‐I 1,2‐dyotropic reactions (X‐EH₂‐CH₂‐X*→X*‐EH₂‐CH₂‐X, with E=C and Si, X=H, CH₃, SiH₃, F to I) and trends therein as a function of the migrating groups X, we have explored ten archetypal model reactions of this class using relativistic density functional theory (DFT) at ZORA‐OLYP/TZ2P. The main trends in reactivity are rationalized using the activation strain model of chemical reactivity, which had to be extended from bimolecular to unimolecular reactions. Thus, the above type‐I dyotropic reactions can be conceived as a relative rotation of the CH₂CH₂ and [X???X] fragments in X‐CH₂‐CH₂‐X. The picture that emerges from these analyses is that reduced C? X bonding in the transition state is the origin of the reaction barrier. Also the trends in reactivity on variation of X can be understood in terms of how sensitive the C? X interaction is towards adopting the transition‐state geometry. A valence bond analysis complements the analyses and confirms the picture emerging from the activation strain model.     

Mechanism and Rate Constants of the CH3+ CH2CO Reaction: A Theoretical Study

The mechanism of the reaction of ketene with methyl radical has been studied by ab initio CCSD(T)‐F12/cc‐pVQZ‐f12//B2PLYPD3/6‐311G** calculations of the potential energy surface. Temperature‐ and pressure‐dependent reaction rate constants have been computed using the Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus (RRKM)–Master Equation and transition state theory methods. Three main channels have been shown to dominate the reaction; the formation of the collisionally stabilized CH₃COCH₂ radical and the production of the C₂H₅ + CO and HCCO + CH₄ bimolecular products. Relative contributions of the CH₃COCH₂, C₂H₅ + CO, and HCCO + CH₄ channels strongly depend on the reaction conditions; the formation of thermalized CH₃COCH₂ is favored at low temperatures and high pressures, HCCO + CH₄ is dominant at high temperatures, whereas the yield of C₂H₅ + CO peaks at intermediate temperatures around 1000 K. The C₂H₅ + CO channel is favored by a decrease in pressure but remains the second most important reaction pathway after HCCO + CH₄ under typical flame conditions. The calculated rate constants at different pressures are proposed for kinetic modeling of ketene reactions in combustion in the form of modified Arrhenius expressions. Only rate constant to form CH₃COCH₂ depends on pressure, whereas those to produce C₂H₅ + CO and HCCO + CH₄ appeared to be pressure independent.     

Direct MP2 molecular dynamics studies of H atom reaction with CD4 and CH4

The mechanism and dynamics of the H + CD₄ → CD₃ + HD (I) and H + CH₄ → CH₃ + H₂ (II) reactions have been investigated by electronic structure methods. The minimum‐energy path and vibrational frequencies along the intrinsic reaction coordinate are calculated at MP2/cc‐pVDZ level. Energy distributions of the products are also obtained by the direct classical trajectory calculations at the MP2/ cc‐pVDZ level. It is found that most of the available energy appears as product translational energy, and very little of the available energy is partitioned into internal excitation of the HD (H₂) product for reaction I (II), which is in agreement with the experimental evidence. The results indicate that the experimental results could be reproduced by the direct MP2 molecular dynamics calculations. The rotational state distributions of the products show the HD (H₂) products are formed with lower rotational quantum numbers than the CD₃ (CH₃) products. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Theoretical Study of the Rate Coefficients for CH3NHNH2 + NO2 and Related Reactions

The kinetics and mechanisms of H atom abstraction reactions from CH₃NHNH₂ by NO₂ (R1) and related reactions have been investigated theoretically by using ωB97X‐D and CCSD(T)‐F12 quantum chemical calculations and the steady‐state unimolecular master equation analysis based on Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus (RRKM) theory. For reaction (R1), both dissociation and isomerization steps between intermediate complexes were found to be important for the distribution of the dissociated bimolecular products. The dominant products of (R1) were found to be cis‐CH₃NHNH and HONO at lower temperature. The branching ratios for CH₃NNH₂ formation paths increased with increasing temperature. On the same reaction potential energy surface, six reactions including isomerization reactions between CH₃NNH₂ and cis‐/trans‐CH₃NHNH catalyzed by HONO were suggested to compete with the reverse reaction of (R1). The temperature‐ and pressure‐dependent rate expressions are proposed for kinetic modeling.     

Theoretical study on the hydrogen abstraction reactions from hydrazine derivatives by H atom

The hydrogen abstraction reactions from hydrazine and its methyl derivatives by the H atom have been investigated theoretically by using CBS-QB3//DSD-BLYP-D3(BJ)/Def2-TZVP quantum chemical calculations and transition state theory calculations coupled with various tunneling correction methods. Both the products and transition state energies of the hydrogen abstraction from the amino group were stabilized by the methyl group substitution. The substitution effect on the ^αN site was two times larger than that on the ^βN site. On the other hand, the substitution effect was negligible on the hydrogen abstraction from the methyl group. The overall rate coefficients of N₂H₄ + H reaction calculated by canonical variational transition state theory with the small-curvature tunneling correction agreed well with previously reported values, but those of CH₃NHNH₂/(CH₃)₂NNH₂ + H were slightly lower than a previous experimental value. The product-specific rate coefficients have been proposed for the kinetics modeling of these fuels’ combustion.     

Quantum dynamical study of heavy-light-heavy reactions: application to the (Cl + CH<Subscript>4</Subscript> → HCl + CH<Subscript>3</Subscript>) reaction

A time dependent quantum-mechanical QM study is performed on the Cl + CH₄ → HCl + CH₃ reaction, using a pseudotriatomic ab initio based surface. Probabilities present some clear peaks versus t, which we assign to transition state resonances where the light H atom oscillates between heavy Cl and CH₃ groups. For ground-state reactants, the reactivity is of quantum origin. The reaction occurs through an abstraction mechanism, following both direct and an indirect mechanisms. The calculations show the participation of a short-lived collision complex in the microscopic reaction mechanism. This theoretical result and other oscillating properties found here could, however, be related to the existence of resonance for the production of HCl, as suggested by experimentalists.     

Quantum chemistry investigation of electronic structure and NMR spectral characteristics for fluorides of dialkylamidosulfoxylic acids and related compounds

The parent (H₂N? S? F) and N,N‐dialkyl‐substituted fluorides of amidosulfoxylic acid (R₂N? S? F, R?Me or R₂N?Morph) as well as the related compounds X? S? F (X?CH₃, OH, F, SiH₃, PH₂, SH, Cl) have been investigated with quantum chemical calculations at the ab initio (MP2) level of approximation. The geometries, electronic structures, molecular orbital (MO) energies and NMR chemical shift values have been calculated to evaluate the role and extent of the polarization and delocalization effects in forming of the high‐field fluorine NMR resonances within the series of interest. The δF magnitudes for all investigated fluorides of amidosulfoxylic acid as well as the δN value calculated for Me₂N? S? F are in the good agreement with the ¹⁹F and ¹⁴N NMR chemical shift values measured experimentally. For the parent compounds, H₂N? S? F and H₂N? SO₂? F, the orientation of principal axes of the magnetic shielding tensors and the corresponding principal σ_ii values along these axes have been qualitatively interpreted basing on the analysis of the MO interactions in the presence of the rotating magnetic field. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Computational study on the mechanism for the gas‐phase reaction of dimethyl disulfide with OH

The mechanisms for the reaction of CH₃SSCH₃ with OH radical are investigated at the QCISD(T)/6‐311++G(d,p)//B3LYP/6‐311++G(d,p) level of theory. Five channels have been obtained and six transition state structures have been located for the title reaction. The initial association between CH₃SSCH₃ and OH, which forms two low‐energy adducts named as CH₃S(OH)SCH₃ (IM1 and IM2), is confirmed to be a barrierless process, The S? S bond rupture and H? S bond formation of IM1 lead to the products P1(CH₃SH + CH₃SO) with a barrier height of 40.00 kJ mol^?1. The reaction energy of Path 1 is ?74.04 kJ mol^?1. P1 is the most abundant in view of both thermodynamics and dynamics. In addition, IMs can lead to the products P2 (CH₃S + CH₃SOH), P3 (H₂O + CH₂S + CH₃S), P4 (CH₃ + CH₃SSOH), and P5 (CH₄ + CH₃SSO) by addition‐elimination or hydrogen abstraction mechanism. All products are thermodynamically favorable except for P4 (CH₃ + CH₃SSOH). The reaction energies of Path 2, Path 3, Path 4, and Path 5 are ?28.42, ?46.90, 28.03, and ?89.47 kJ mol^?1, respectively. Path 5 is the least favorable channel despite its largest exothermicity (?89.47 kJ mol^?1) because this process must undergo two barriers of TS5 (109.0 kJ mol^?1) and TS6 (25.49 kJ mol^?1). Hopefully, the results presented in this study may provide helpful information on deep insight into the reaction mechanism. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Theoretical investigation of ion pair SN2 reactions of alkali isothiocyanates with alkyl halides. Part 1. Reaction of lithium isothiocyanate and methyl fluoride with inversion mechanism

The gas‐phase ionic S_N2 reactions NCS^‐ + CH₃F and ion pair S_N2 reaction LiNCS + CH₃F with inversion mechanism were investigated at the level of MP2(full)/6‐311+G**//HF/6‐311+G**. Both of them involve the reactants complex, inversion transition state, and products complex. There are two possible reaction pathways in the ionic S_N2 reaction but four reaction pathways in the ion pair S_N2 reaction. Our results indicate that the introduction of lithium significantly lower the reaction barrier and make the ion pair displacement reaction more facile. For both ionic and ion pair reaction, methyl thiocyanate is predicted to be the major product, but the latter is more selective. More‐stable methyl isothiocyanate can be prepared by thermal rearrangement of methyl thiocyanate. The theoretical predictions are consistent with the known experimental results. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005     

Theoretical study on the gas‐phase reaction mechanism between rhodium monoxide and methane for methanol production

The gas‐phase reaction mechanism between methane and rhodium monoxide for the formation of methanol, syngas, formaldehyde, water, and methyl radical have been studied in detail on the doublet and quartet state potential energy surfaces at the CCSD(T)/6‐311+G(2d, 2p), SDD//B3LYP/6‐311+G(2d, 2p), SDD level. Over the 300–1100 K temperature range, the branching ratio for the Rh(⁴F) + CH₃OH channel is 97.5–100%, whereas the branching ratio for the D‐CH₂ORh + H₂ channel is 0.0–2.5%, and the branching ratio for the D‐CH₂ORh + H₂ channel is so small to be ruled out. The minimum energy reaction pathway for the main product methanol formation involving two spin inversions prefers to both start and terminate on the ground quartet state, where the ground doublet intermediate CH₃RhOH is energetically preferred, and its formation rate constant over the 300–1100 K temperature range is fitted by k_CH3RhOH = 7.03 × 10⁶ exp(?69.484/RT) dm³ mol^?1 s^?1. On the other hand, the main products shall be Rh + CH₃OH in the reactions of RhO + CH₄, CH₂ORh + H₂, Rh + CO +2H₂, and RhCH₂ + H₂O, whereas the main products shall be CH₂ORh + H₂ in the reaction of Rh + CH₃OH. Meanwhile, the doublet intermediates H₂RhOCH₂ and CH₃RhOH are predicted to be energetically favored in the reactions of Rh + CH₃OH and CH₂ORh + H₂ and in the reaction of RhCH₂ + H₂O, respectively. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2010     

Isomerizations of CH3SO2: Quantum Chemistry and Topological Study

The structures, stabilities and the isomerization reactions of CH₃SO₂ isomers in a doublet electronic state have been studied at B3LYP/6‐311+ +G (d,p), MP2/6‐311++G (d,p) and CCSD(T)/6‐311++G (d,p) levels. The three different levels of calculation give the similar results: thirteen minimum isomers were located and they were connected by eleven transition states. Among the thirteen isomers, cis‐CH₃OSO, trans‐CH₃OSO and CH₃SO₂ are the most stable species, and they should be detected easily in experiment. This is well consistent with the experimental result. These isomers could isomerize to each other by chemical bond vibration, chemical bond rotation and atom migration. The non‐planar ring structure transition state (STS), which was found in this paper, extended the concept of ring STS to the non‐planar systems.     

The Unique Gas‐Phase Chemistry of the [AuO]+/CH4 Couple: Selective Oxygen‐Atom Transfer to,Rather than Hydrogen‐Atom Abstraction from,Methane

The thermal reaction of [AuO]⁺ with methane has been explored using FT‐ICR mass spectrometry complemented by high‐level quantum chemical calculations. In contrast to the previously studied congener [CuO]⁺, and to [AgO]⁺, [AuO]⁺ reacts with CH₄ exclusively via oxygen‐atom transfer to form CH₃OH, and a novel mechanistic scenario for this selective oxidation process has been revealed. Also, the origin of the inertness of the [AgO]⁺/CH₄ couple has been addressed computationally.     

Extending the Row of Lanthanide Tetrafluorides: A Combined Matrix‐Isolation and Quantum‐Chemical Study

Only the neutral tetrafluorides of Ce, Pr, and Tb as well as the [LnF₇]^3? anions of Dy and Nd, with the metal in the +IV oxidation state, have been previously reported. We report our attempts to extend the row of neutral lanthanide tetrafluorides through the reaction of laser‐ablated metal atoms with fluorine and their stabilization and characterization by matrix‐isolation IR spectroscopy. In addition to the above three tetrafluorides, we found two new tetrafluorides, ³NdF₄ and ⁷DyF₄, both of which are in the +IV oxidation state, which extends this lanthanide oxidation state to two new metals. Our experimental results are supported by quantum‐chemical calculations and the role of the lanthanide oxidation state is discussed for both the LnF₄ and [LnF₄]^? species. Most of the LnF₄ species are predicted to be in the +IV oxidation state and all of the [LnF₄]^? anions are predicted to be in the +III oxidation state. The LnF₄ species are predicted to be strong oxidizing agents and the LnF₃ species are predicted to be moderate to strong Lewis acids.     

Force in SCF Theories. First and second derivatives of the potential energy hypersurface of chemical reaction systems

Accurate Hellmann–Feynman force method for the first and second derivatives of energy has been applied to the studies of the chemical reaction systems. We have studied (1) the electronic origins of the structure-reactivity correlations in the reactions CH₃ + H → CH₄ and CH₃ + CH₃ → C₂H₆ and (2) the geometries and force constants in the reaction intermediate and the transition state of the reactions F^? + HF → [FHF]^? → FH + F^? and H^? + CH₄ → CH₄ + H^?, respectively. An intuitive simplicity of the underlying concepts of the first and second derivatives of the present approach is shown in the analysis.     

A study of the reactions of fluorine with hydrogen and methane in the initiation phase using a miniature tubular reactor

A small tubular reactor having an inner diameter of 1–2 mm andused as the source in a molecular beam apparatus is described in detail. This arrangement allows the study of fast reactions with reaction times smaller than 1 msec. The preexplosive reaction phase between F₂ and H₂ and CH₄, respectively, is investigated to find out the initiation reactions. In the F₂/H₂ reaction, initiation is brought about by heterogeneous generation of F atoms or some other surface reaction. Evidence is also obtained for chain branching reactions. In the F₂/CH₄ case the dominant initiation reaction is the homogeneous reaction CH₄ + F₂ → CH₃ + HF + F. The rate constant for the reaction between 300 and 400 K is 10^12.3±0.3 exp[?47 ± 8 kJ/mol/RT] cm³/mol sec. The analysis of the experimental data also yields the rate constant for the propagation reaction CH₃ + F₂ → CH₃ F + F, which is 10^12.3±0.3 exp[?4.6 ±2.1 kJ/mol/RT] cm³/mol sec.     

On the Origin of the Distinctly Different Reactivity of Ruthenium in [MO]+/CH4 Systems (M=Fe,Ru, Os)

The thermal gas‐phase reactions of [RuO]⁺ with methane have been explored by FT‐ICR mass spectrometry and high‐level quantum‐chemical calculations. In contrast to the previously studied [FeO]⁺/CH₄ and [OsO]⁺/CH₄ couples, which undergo oxygen/hydrogen atom transfers and dehydrogenation, respectively, the [RuO]⁺/CH₄ system produces selectively [Ru(CH)₂]⁺ and H₂O, albeit with much lower efficiency. Various mechanistic scenarios were uncovered, and the associated electronic origins were revealed by high‐level quantum‐chemical calculations. The reactivity differences observed for the [MO]⁺/CH₄ couples (M=Fe, Ru, Os) are due to the subtle interplay of the spin–orbit coupling efficiency, orbital overlap, and relativistic effects.     

Transition state theory thermal rate constants and RRKM‐based branching ratios for the N(2D) + CH4 reaction based on multi‐sState and multi‐reference Ab Initio calculations of interest for the titan's chemistry

Multireference single and double configuration interaction (MRCI) calculations including Davidson (+Q) or Pople (+P) corrections have been conducted in this work for the reactants, products, and extrema of the doublet ground state potential energy surface involved in the N( ² D) + CH₄ reaction. Such highly correlated ab initio calculations are then compared with previous PMP4, CCSD(T), W1, and DFT/B3LYP studies. Large relative differences are observed in particular for the transition state in the entrance channel resolving the disagreement between previous ab initio calculations. We confirm the existence of a small but positive potential barrier (3.86 ± 0.84 kJ mol^?1 (MR‐AQCC) and 3.89 kJ mol^?1 (MRCI+P)) in the entrance channel of the title reaction. The correlation is seen to change significantly the energetic position of the two minima and five saddle points of this system together with the dissociation channels but not their relative order. The influence of the electronic correlation into the energetic of the system is clearly demonstrated by the thermal rate constant evaluation and it temperature dependance by means of the transition state theory. Indeed, only MRCI values are able to reproduce the experimental rate constant of the title reaction and its behavior with temperature. Similarly, product branching ratios, evaluated by means of unimolecular RRKM theory, confirm the NH production of Umemoto et al., whereas previous works based on less accurate ab initio calculations failed. We confirm the previous findings that the N( ² D) + CH₄ reaction proceeds via an insertion–dissociation mechanism and that the dominant product channels are CH₂NH + H and CH₃ + NH. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.