Theoretical study on the mechanism and kinetics of addition of hydroxyl radicals to fluorobenzene

Geometries, frequencies, reaction barriers, and reaction rates were calculated for the addition of OH radical to fluorobenzene using Möller–Plesset second‐order perturbation (MP2) and G3 methods. Four stationary points were found along each reaction path: reactants, prereaction complex, transition state, and product. A potential for association of OH radical and fluorobenzene into prereaction complex was calculated, and the associated transition state was determined for the first time. G3 calculations give higher reaction barriers than MP2, but also a significantly deeper prereaction complex minimum. The rate constants, calculated with Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus (RRKM) theory using G3 energies, are much faster and in much better agreement with the experiment than those calculated with MP2 method, as the deeper well favors the formation of prereaction complex and also increases the final relative populations of adducts. The discrepancies between the experimental and calculated rate constants are attributed to the errors in calculated frequencies as well as to the overestimated G3 reaction barriers and underestimated prereaction complex well depth. It was possible to rectify those errors and to reproduce the experimental reaction rates in the temperature range 230–310 K by treating the relative translation of OH radical and fluorobenzene as a two‐dimensional particle‐in‐the‐box approximation and by downshifting the prereaction complex well and reaction barriers by 0.7 kcal mol^?1. The isomeric distribution of fluorohydroxycyclohexadienyl radicals is calculated from the reaction rates to be 30.9% ortho, 22.6% meta, 38.4% para, and 8.3% ipso. These results are in agreement with experiment that also shows dominance of ortho and para channels. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Density functional theory investigation of competitive free-radical processes during the thermal cracking of methylated polyaromatics: estimation of kinetic parameters

Density functional B3LYP and BH&HLYP calculations with the 6-31G** basis set have been performed to investigate elementary reactions playing an important role in the pyrolysis of 1-methylnaphthalene. The pathways describing the destiny of the main radicals, H, methyl, hydromethylnaphthyl and methylnaphthyl, have been studied. At low temperature, addition of H atoms on the aromatic ring is favored over hydrogen abstraction. Except at low temperature (below 400 K), the hydromethylnaphthyl radical undergoes preferentially a loss of hydrogen rather than a bimolecular hydrogen transfer with methylnaphthalene or addition reaction on methylnaphthalene forming a hydrogenated dimer. In the range 400-750 K, the formation of methane by hydrogen abstraction of methyl radical on methylnaphthalene is predominant compared to the formation of hydrodimethylnaphthalenes by addition reaction. Rate constants of reactions describing the formation of heavy products like methyldinaphthylmethanes or dimethylbinaphthalenes have been calculated and discussed. They are also compared to recombination reactions from the literature. Rate constants of these reactions have been computed using transition state theory and can be integrated in kinetic radical schemes of methylated polyaromatic compounds pyrolysis from geological to laboratory conditions.     

Dual-level direct dynamics studies for the reactions of dimethyl ether with hydrogen atom and methyl radical

The dual-level direct dynamics approach is employed to study the dynamics of the CH(3)OCH(3) + H (R1) and CH(3)OCH(3) + CH(3) (R2) reactions. Low-level calculations of the potential energy surface are carried out at the MP2/6-311+G(d,p) level of theory. High-level energetic information is obtained at the QCISD(T) level of theory with the 6-311+G(3df,3pd) basis set. The dynamics calculations are performed using variational transition state theory (VTST) with the interpolated single-point energies (ISPE) method, and small-curvature tunneling (SCT) is included. It is shown that the reaction of CH(3)OCH(3) with H (R1) may proceed much easier and with a lower barrier height than the reaction with CH(3) radical (R2). The calculated rate constants and activation energies are in good agreement with the experimental values. The calculated rate constants are fitted to k(R1) = 1.16 x 10(-19) T(3) exp(-1922/T) and k(R2) = 1.66 x 10(-28) T(5) exp(-3086/T) cm(3) mol(-1) s(-1) over a temperature range 207-2100 K. Furthermore, a small variational effect and large tunneling effect in the lower temperature range are found for the two reactions.     

A Theoretical Study of the Kinetics of the Hydrogen Atom Abstraction Reactions from Cyclopropane by H,O (3P), and Cl (2P3/2) Atoms and OH Radicals

The rate constants of the H‐abstraction reactions from cyclopropane by H, O (³P), Cl (²P_3/2), and OH radicals have been calculated over the temperature range of 250?2500 K using two different levels of theory. Calculations of optimized geometrical parameters and vibrational frequencies are performed using the MP2 method combined with the cc‐pVTZ basis set and the 6–311++G(d,p) basis set. Single‐point energy calculations have been carried out with the highly correlated ab initio coupled cluster method in the space of single, double, and triple (perturbatively) electron excitations CCSD(T) using either the cc‐pVTZ, aug‐cc‐pVTZ, and aug‐cc‐pVQZ basis sets or the 6–311++G(3df,3pd) basis set. The CCSD(T) calculated potential energies have been extrapolated to the complete basis limit (CBS) limit. The Full Configuration Interaction (FCI) energies have been also estimated using the continued‐fraction approximation as proposed by Goodson (J. Chem. Phys., 2002, 116, 6948–6956). Canonical transition‐state theory combined with an Eckart tunneling correction has been used to predict the rate constants as a function of temperature using two kinetic models (direct abstraction or complex mechanism) at two levels of theory (CCSD(T)‐cf/CBS//MP2/cc‐pVTZ and CCSD(T)‐cf/6–311++G(3df,3pd)//MP2/6–311++G(d,p)). The calculated kinetic parameters are in reasonable agreement with their literature counterparts for all reactions. In the light of these trends, the use of the Pople‐style basis sets for studying the reactivity of other systems such as larger cycloalkanes or halogenated cycloalkanes is recommended because the 6–311++G(3df,3pd) basis set is less time consuming than the aug‐cc‐pVQZ basis set. Based on our calculations performed at the CCSD(T)‐cf/CBS//MP2/cc‐pVTZ level of theory, the standard enthalpy of formation at 298 K for the cyclopropyl radical has been reassessed and its value is (290.5 ± 1.6) kJ mol^?1.     

A quantum chemical investigation of pyrolysis reactions of glyoxylic acid ethylester

Two possible reaction paths for the pyrolysis of the ethylester of glyoxylic acid have been studied by ab initio molecular orbital calculations. The basis sets 3-21G and 6-31G * have been used, and electron correlation has been included by Møller–Plesset calculations up to fourth order. Our calculations indicate that the reaction leading to acid and ethylene through a 6-membered ring transition state is favored relative to a process involving a formyl hydrogen transfer via a 5-membered ring to the alkyl unit leading to ethane, CO, and CO₂. The predicted activation energies for these two reactions obtained at the highest level of calculation, MP 4(SDTQ )/6–31G *, are 50.4 and 71.7 kcal/mol, respectively. The transition states have RHF wave functions that are stable relative to UHF solutions using the 3–21G basis. The geometry of the transition states and IRC following indicate that both reactions are strongly asynchronous: The C? O bond rupture is virtually completed before hydrogen transfer occurs. For comparative purposes, analogous calculations have been performed for the ethylester of formic acid, where it is confirmed that a 6-membered ring transition state is preferred relative to a 4-membered one by around 42 kcal/mol at the highest level of calculation.     

The Impact of Resonance Stabilization on the Intramolecular Hydrogen‐Atom Shift Reactions of Hydrocarbon Radicals

A series of intramolecular H‐atom shift reactions of both alkenyl and allylic radicals were investigated by using CBS‐QB3 electronic structure calculations. In the first set of reactions, an alkyl radical site was converted into an allylic radical site. In the second set, an allylic radical was converted into another allylic radical. The results are discussed in the context of a Benson‐type model to examine the impact of the transition‐state partial resonance stabilization on both the activation energies and the pre‐exponential factors. In most cases, the differences in the activation energies relative to those for the analogous alkyl radicals are primarily due to the barriers of the bimolecular reaction component of the activation energy. For the first set of reactions, there is additional entropy loss relative to the alkyl radical analogues. This additional loss of entropy may be smaller than some previous estimates. The pre‐exponential factors for the second set of reactions are generally similar to those of the analogous alkyl radical reactions (once the double bond in the transition state is accounted for).     

On-the-fly ab initio trajectory calculations of the dynamics of Cl atom reactions with methane, ethane and methanol

The dynamics of Cl atom reactions with methane, ethane, and methanol have been studied by calculation of quasi-classical trajectories, with computation of potential energies and gradients only at the geometries through which the trajectories pass. Trajectories were started from the transition state, with 2 kcal mol(-1) of energy given to the mode with an imaginary frequency (representing the reaction coordinate at the transition state) and inclusion of zero-point energy in some or all of the remaining vibrational modes. The trajectories were propagated as far as separated products, with the majority of potential energy calculations performed at the HF/6-31G level of theory. The rotational quantum state population distributions of the HCl products from the reactions of Cl atoms with methane, ethane and methanol peaked at J'=1, 2, and 6, respectively. The calculations thereby exhibit somewhat greater rotational excitation than is found experimentally, but correctly describe the trend of increasing HCl product rotation for the three respective reactions. In agreement with previous observations, only 4% of the energy available to the products of the reaction of Cl atoms with methane was channeled into CH3 radical internal energy, and 1% into HCl rotation, with 92% ending up as translational energy. For the reaction of Cl atoms with ethane and with methanol, the corresponding values for radical internal energy, HCl rotation and product translation are 21, 3, and 78%, and 46, 13, and 42%, respectively. For the latter two reactions, the radical internal energy is mostly accounted for by rotational motion. The clear increase in rotational excitation of the HCl products from the Cl atom reaction with methanol is explained in terms of a dipole-dipole interaction between the departing polar fragments. A smaller set of more computationally expensive trajectory calculations using potentials and gradients from the MP2/6-311G(d,p) level of theory were performed for reactions of Cl atoms with methanol, and give results in better agreement with experimentally measured HCl rotational excitation, consistent with the model of dipole-induced product rotation because the MP2/6-311G(d,p) calculations give smaller dipole moments for both products than the HF/6-31G calculations. The calculated angles between the rotational angular momentum vectors and recoil velocities of the radical peak sharply at 90 degrees for the reactions of Cl atoms with ethane and methanol, but exhibit a much broader distribution for reaction with methane.     

Mechanism and Kinetics of the Reaction of Nitrosamines with OH Radical: A Theoretical Study

The reaction of nitrosodimethylamine, nitrosoazetidine, nitrosopyrrolidine, and nitrosopiperidine with the hydroxyl radical has been studied using electronic structure calculations in gas and aqueous phases. The rate constant was calculated using variational transition state theory. The reactions are initiated by H‐atom abstraction from the αC─H group of nitrosamines and leads to the formation of alkyl radical intermediate. In the subsequent reactions, the initially formed alkyl radical intermediate reacts with O₂ forming a peroxy radical. The reaction of peroxy radical with other atmospheric oxidants, such as HO₂ and NO radicals, is studied. The structures of the reactive species were optimized by using the density functional theory methods, such as M06‐2X, MPW1K, and BHandHLYP, and hybrid methods G3B3. The single‐point energy calculations were also performed at CCSD(T)/6‐311+G(d,p)// M062X/6‐311+G(d,p) level. The calculated thermodynamical parameters show that the reactions corresponding to the formation of intermediates and products are highly exothermic. We have calculated the rate constant for the initial H‐atom abstraction and subsequent favorable secondary reactions using canonical variational transition state theory over the temperature range of 150–400 K. The calculated rate constant for initial H‐atom abstraction reaction is ∼3 × 10⁻¹² cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ and is in agreement with the previous experimental results. The calculated thermochemical data and rate constants show that the reaction profile and kinetics of the reactions are less dependent on the number of methyl groups present in the nitrosoamines. Furthermore, it has been found that the atmospheric lifetime of nitrosamines is around 5 days in the normal atmospheric OH concentration.     

Kinetics of the hydrogen abstraction reactions of 1,1‐ and 1,2‐difluoroethane with hydroxyl radical: an ab initio study

The hydrogen abstraction reactions of 1,1‐ and 1,2‐difluoroethane with the OH radical have been investigated by the ab initio molecular orbital theory. The geometries of the reactants, products, and transition states have been optimized at the (U)MP2=full level of theory in conjunction with 6‐311G(d,p) basis functions. Single‐point (U)MP2=full with larger basis set, such as 6‐311G(3d,2p), and QCISD(T)=full/6‐311G(d,p) calculations have also been carried out to observe the effects of basis sets utilized and higher order electron correlation. Three and four reaction channels have been identified for 1,1‐ and 1,2‐difluoroethane, respectively. In the case of 1,1‐difluoroethane, hydrogen abstraction from the α‐carbon has been found to be easier than that from the β‐carbon. The barriers of the four reaction channels for 1,2‐difluoroethane are close to each other. Weak hydrogen bonding interactions have been observed between hydroxyl hydrogen and a fluorine atom in the transition states. Rate constants for the reactions of 1,1‐ and 1,2‐difluoroethane with the OH radical have been calculated using the standard transition state theory and found to be in good agreement with the experimental results. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 21: 1305–1318, 2000     

Kinetics of the Reaction of Abstracting Hydrogen from Ethylene by Hydrogen Atom

Hydrogen abstraction reaction, H C2H4 --H2 C2H2 was studied by using A initio SCF method. Ge-ometries were fully optimized at SCF level and energies were computed at STO-3G basis set for reactants and transition state. Vibrational analysis was performed thereupon. Finally, the rate constant calculations were carried out at different temperatures for all range of reaction temperature according to Eyring's sbwlute reaction rate theory. The calculated activation energy is 12. 68 kcal/mol, lower than observed value (H. S kcal/mol) by 1. 82 kcal/mol only. The agreement of the calculated rate constants with the experiments is satisfactory.     

Theoretical study of the thermodynamics and kinetics of hydrogen abstractions from hydrocarbons

Thermochemical and kinetic data were calculated at four cost-effective levels of theory for a set consisting of five hydrogen abstraction reactions between hydrocarbons for which experimental data are available. The selection of a reliable, yet cost-effective method to study this type of reactions for a broad range of applications was done on the basis of comparison with experimental data or with results obtained from computationally demanding high level of theory calculations. For this benchmark study two composite methods (CBS-QB3 and G3B3) and two density functional theory (DFT) methods, MPW1PW91/6-311G(2d,d,p) and BMK/6-311G(2d,d,p), were selected. All four methods succeeded well in describing the thermochemical properties of the five studied hydrogen abstraction reactions. High-level Weizmann-1 (W1) calculations indicated that CBS-QB3 succeeds in predicting the most accurate reaction barrier for the hydrogen abstraction of methane by methyl but tends to underestimate the reaction barriers for reactions where spin contamination is observed in the transition state. Experimental rate coefficients were most accurately predicted with CBS-QB3. Therefore, CBS-QB3 was selected to investigate the influence of both the 1D hindered internal rotor treatment about the forming bond (1D-HR) and tunneling on the rate coefficients for a set of 21 hydrogen abstraction reactions. Three zero curvature tunneling (ZCT) methods were evaluated (Wigner, Skodje & Truhlar, Eckart). As the computationally more demanding centrifugal dominant small curvature semiclassical (CD-SCS) tunneling method did not yield significantly better agreement with experiment compared to the ZCT methods, CD-SCS tunneling contributions were only assessed for the hydrogen abstractions by methyl from methane and ethane. The best agreement with experimental rate coefficients was found when Eckart tunneling and 1D-HR corrections were applied. A mean deviation of a factor 6 on the rate coefficients is found for the complete set of 21 reactions at temperatures ranging from 298 to 1000 K. Tunneling corrections play a critical role in obtaining accurate rate coefficients, especially at lower temperatures, whereas the hindered rotor treatment only improves the agreement with experiment in the high-temperature range.     

Ab initio study on alkyl radical decomposition and alkyl radical addition to olefins

The β bond dissociation of alkyl radicals and their reverse reactions, the addition of alkyl radicals to olefins were studied by G3MP2 level of theory to obtain a consistent kinetic data set. Both reaction families can be classified depending on the type of radical formed by β bond scission, namely the CH₃, primary, secondary tertiary radical formed. The kinetics of the reaction classes were described by only a limited number of Arrhenius parameters. The unified A factor of 10^13.7 s⁻¹ was found for all β bond dissociations. The Arrhenius activation energies are 125, 121, 113 and 103 kJ mol⁻¹, for methyl, primary, secondary, and tertiary radicals, respectively. The activation energies of 32, 25 and 18 kJ mol⁻¹ are calculated for the terminal addition of primary (including methyl), secondary, and tertiary radicals to olefins, respectively. The biologically important nonterminal radical additions to olefins have higher barriers of 37, 31 and 35 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively. At room temperature both strongly exothermic additions can compete with H-atom abstraction. New groups for Benson’s group additivity rules were defined to describe activation parameters for the β bond dissociation reactions. The group values were calculated by using the ab initio heats of formation of transition state structures.     

Transition state structure and energetics of the N(2)O + X (X = Cl,Br) reactions

The structural and vibrational properties of the transition state of the N(2)O + X (X = Cl,Br) reactions have been characterized by ab initio methods using density functional theory. We have employed Becke's hybrid functional (B3LYP), and transition state optimizations were performed with 6-31G(d), 6-311G(2d,2p), 6-311+G(3d,2p), and 6-311+G(3df,2p) basis sets. For the chlorine atom reaction the coupled-cluster method (CCSD(T)) with 6-31G(d) basis set was also used. All calculations resulted in transition state structures with a planar cis arrangement of atoms for both reactions. The geometrical parameters of transition states at B3LYP are very similar, and the reaction coordinates involve mainly the breaking of the N-O bond. At CCSD(T)/6-31G(d) level a contribution of the O-Cl forming bond is also observed in the reaction coordinate. In addition, several highly accurate ab initio composite methods of Gaussian-n (G1, G2, G3), their variations (G2(MP2), G3//B3LYP), and complete basis set (CBS-Q, CBS-Q//B3LYP) series of models were applied to compute reaction energetics. All model chemistries predict exothermic reactions. The G3 and G2 methods result in the smallest deviations from experiment, 1.8 and 0 kcal mol(-1), for the enthalpies of reaction for N(2)O reaction with chlorine and bromine, respectively. The G3//B3LYP and G1 methods perform best among the composite methods in predicting energies of the transition state, with a deviation of 1.9 and 3.0 kcal mol(-1), respectively, in the activation energies for the above processes. However, the B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p) method gives smaller deviations of 0.4 and -1.0 kcal mol(-1), respectively. The performance of the methodologies applied in predicting transition state energies was analyzed.     

Density functional theory study of the beta-carotene radical cation and deprotonated radicals

The beta-carotene radical cation and deprotonated neutral radicals were studied at the density functional theory (DFT) level using different density functionals and basis sets: B3LYP/3-21G, SVWN5/6-31G*, BPW91/DGDZVP2, and B3LYP/6-31G**. The geometries, total energies, spin distributions, and isotropic and anisotropic hyperfine coupling constants of these species were calculated. Deprotonation of the methyl group at the double bond of the cyclohexene ring of the carotenoid radical cation at 5 or 5' produces the most stable neutral radical because of retention of the pi-conjugated system while less stable deprotonation at 9 or 9' and 13 or 13' of the chain methyl groups causes significant distortion of the conjugation. The predicted methyl hyperfine coupling constants of 13-16 MHz of the neutral radicals are in good agreement with the previous electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectrum of photolyzed beta-carotene on a solid support. DFT calculations on the beta-carotene radical cation in a polar water environment showed that the polar environment does not cause significant changes in the proton hyperfine constants from those in the isolated gas-phase molecule. DFT calculated methyl proton hyperfine coupling constants of less than 7.2 MHz are in agreement with those reported for the radical cation in photosystem II (PS II) and those found in the absence of UV light for the radical cation on a silica alumina matrix.     

Theoretical study of mechanism and kinetics for the addition of hydroxyl radical to phenol

The reaction mechanism and kinetics for the addition of hydroxyl radical(OH) to phenol have been investigated using the hybrid density functional(B3LYP) method with the 6-311++G(2dp,2df) basis set and the complete basis set(CBS) method using APNO basis sets,respectively.The equilibrium geometries,energies,and thermodynamics properties of all the stationary points along the addition reaction pathway are calculated.The rate constants and the branching ratios of each channel are evaluated using classical transition state theory(TST) in the temperature range of 210 to 360 K,to simulate temperatures in all parts of the troposphere.The ortho addition pathway is dominant and accounts for 99.8% 96.7% of the overall adduct products from 210 to 360 K.The calculated rate constants are in good agreement with existing experimental values.The addition reaction is irreversible.     

Extension of the bebo method for the calculation of activation energies of intraradical 1,3-, 1,4- and 1,5-hydrogen shift reactions

The bond-energy—bond-order (BEBO) method has been extended for the calculation of activation energies of the radical isomerization reactions occurring via 1,3-, 1,4- and 1,5-hydrogen atom shifts. The energy of the cyclic activated complexes comprises four contributions, i.e. the energy change in formation of the transition state due to the occurrence of fractional and strained bonds, the triplet repulsion, the deformation energy and the non-bonding interaction. The method has been applied to a set of 11 reactions. The agreement between the calculated and the experimental activation energies is satisfactory.     

Comparison of AM1 and PM3 semiempirical to ab initio methods in the study of Diels-Alder reactions of butadiene and cyclopentadiene with cyanoethylenes

Assuming a concerted synchronous mechanism with one transition state of the Diels-Alder reactions, the structures of the transition states and the activation energies for the reactions of butadiene and cyclopentadiene with cyanoethylenes were calculated by AM1 and PM3 semiempirical methods. The structural parameters were compared with those obtained by high level Gaussian calculations, whereas the activation energies were compared both with the ab initio calculations and those obtained experimentally. The structural properties calculated with PM3 methods are in general in better agreement with the ab initio calculations. The low level ab initio calculations are in many cases worse than the semiempirical methods. All predicted activation energies with both semiempirical methods are up to 300% higher than the experimental values. The predicted reactivity is also opposite to the experimental data. Only the very high level Gaussian calculations are in good correlation with experimental results. The predicted selectivity of the reaction is also opposite to the experimental facts. Two explanations are offered for this discrepancy: AM1 and PM3 methods cannot handle the calculation of the concerted Diels-Alder transition states and are not recommended to be used for that purpose, or this Diels-Alder reaction is not concerted but is stepwise.     

尿酸质子转移反应的理论研究I——分子内质子转移研究

使用量子化学中的Hartree-Fock方法和密度泛函理论中的B3LYP方法，分别在3－21G^*和6－31G（d)水平上，计算了尿酸分子从三羰基异构体向三羟基异构体的转化。结果表明，转化过程经历了单羟基和双羟基异构体2种中间物和3种过渡态时的分子内质子转移（IPT），转移中的H原邻近的N，O和C原子形成了具有四元环结构的过渡态。随着IPT的进行，N－H键逐渐被削弱和断裂，O－H键则逐渐生成。3个反应的活化能分别为190.3kJ/mol,181.4kJ/mol和249.9kJ/mol(B3LYP/6-31G(d))。较高的活化能表明在室温下，无催化剂的IPT难以进行。