An ab initio/RRKM study of product branching ratios in the photodissociation of buta-1,2- and -1,3-dienes and but-2-yne at 193 nm

Ab initio G2M(MP2)//B3LYP/6-311G** calculations have been performed to investigate the reaction mechanism of photodissociation of buta-1,2- and -1,3-dienes and but-2-yne after their internal conversion into the vibrationally hot ground electronic state. The detailed study of the potential-energy surface was followed by microcanonical RRKM calculations of energy-dependent rate constants for individual reaction steps (at 193 nm photoexcitation and under collision-free conditions) and by solution of kinetic equations aimed at predicting the product branching ratios. For buta-1,2-diene, the major dissociation channels are found to be the single Cbond;C bond cleavage to form the methyl and propargyl radicals and loss of hydrogen atoms from various positions to produce the but-2-yn-1-yl (p1), buta-1,2-dien-4-yl (p2), and but-1-yn-3-yl (p3) isomers of C(4)H(5). The calculated branching ratio of the CH(3) + C(3)H(3)/C(4)H(5) + H products, 87.9:5.9, is in a good agreement with the recent experimental value of 96:4 (ref. 21) taking into account that a significant amount of the C(4)H(5) product undergoes secondary dissociation to C(4)H(4) + H. The isomerization of buta-1,2-diene to buta-1,3-diene or but-2-yne appears to be slower than its one-step decomposition and plays only a minor role. On the other hand, the buta-1,3-diene-->buta-1,2-diene, buta-1,3-diene-->but-2-yne, and buta-1,3-diene-->cyclobutene rearrangements are significant in the dissociation of buta-1,3-diene, which is shown to be a more complex process. The major reaction products are still CH(3) + C(3)H(3), formed after the isomerization of buta-1,3-diene to buta-1,2-diene, but the contribution of the other radical channels, C(4)H(5) + H and C(2)H(3) + C(2)H(3), as well as two molecular channels, C(2)H(2) + C(2)H(4) and C(4)H(4) + H(2), significantly increases. The overall calculated C(4)H(5) + H/CH(3) + C(3)H(3)/C(2)H(3) + C(2)H(3)/C(4)H(4) + H(2)/C(2)H(2) + C(2)H(4) branching ratio is 24.0:49.6:4.6:6.1:15.2, which agrees with the experimental value of 20:50:8:2:2022 within 5 % margins. For but-2-yne, the one-step decomposition pathways, which include mostly H atom loss to produce p1 and, to a minor extent, molecular hydrogen elimination to yield methylethynylcarbene, play an approximately even role with that of the channels that involve the isomerization of but-2-yne to buta-1,2- or -1,3-dienes. p1 + H are the most important reaction products, with a branching ratio of 56.6 %, followed by CH(3) + C(3)H(3) (23.8 %). The overall C(4)H(5) + H/CH(3) + C(3)H(3)/C(2)H(3) + C(2)H(3)/C(4)H(4) + H(2)/C(2)H(2) + C(2)H(4) branching ratio is predicted as 62.0:23.8:2.5:5.7:5.6. Contrary to buta-1,2- and -1,3-dienes, photodissociation of but-2-yne is expected to produce more hydrogen atoms than methyl radicals. The isomerization mechanisms between various isomers of the C(4)H(6) molecule including buta-1,2- and -1,3-dienes, but-2-yne, 1-methylcyclopropene, dimethylvinylidene, and cyclobutene have been also characterized in detail.     

The reaction of tricarbon with acetylene: an ab initio/RRKM study of the potential energy surface and product branching ratios

Ab initio calculations of the potential energy surface for the C3(1Sigmag+)+C2H2(1Sigmag+) reaction have been performed at the RCCSD(T)/cc-pVQZ//B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) + ZPE[B3LYP/6-311G(d,p)] level with extrapolation to the complete basis set limit for key intermediates and products. These calculations have been followed by statistical calculations of reaction rate constants and product branching ratios. The results show the reaction to begin with the formation of the 3-(didehydrovinylidene)cyclopropene intermediate i1 or five-member ring isomer i7 with the entrance barriers of 7.6 and 13.8 kcal/mol, respectively. i1 rearranges to the other C5H2 isomers, including ethynylpropadienylidene i2, singlet pentadiynylidene i3, pentatetraenylidene i4, ethynylcyclopropenylidene i5, and four- and five-member ring structures i6, i7, and i8 by ring-closure and ring-opening processes and hydrogen migrations. i2, i3, and i4 lose a hydrogen atom to produce the most stable linear isomer of C5H with the overall reaction endothermicity of approximately 24 kcal/mol. H elimination from i5 leads to the formation of the cyclic C5H isomer, HC2C3, +H, 27 kcal/ mol above C3+C2H2. 1,1-H2 loss from i4 results in the linear pentacarbon C5+H2 products endothermic by 4 kcal/mol. The H elimination pathways occur without exit barriers, whereas the H2 loss from i4 proceeds via a tight transition state 26.4 kcal/mol above the reactants. The characteristic energy threshold for the reaction under single collision conditions is predicted be in the range of approximately 24 kcal/mol. Product branching ratios obtained by solving kinetic equations with individual rate constants calculated using RRKM and VTST theories for collision energies between 25 and 35 kcal/mol show that l-C5H+H are the dominant reaction products, whereas HC2C3+H and l-C5+H2 are minor products with branching ratios not exceeding 2.5% and 0.7%, respectively. The ethynylcyclopropenylidene isomer i5 is calculated to be the most stable C5H2 species, more favorable than triplet pentadiynylidene i3t by approximately 2 kcal/mol.     

Reaction of phenyl radical with propylene as a possible source of indene and other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: an ab initio/RRKM-ME study

Ab initio G3(MP2,CC)//B3LYP/6-311G** calculations have been performed to investigate the potential energy surface (PES) and mechanism of the reaction of phenyl radical with propylene followed by kinetic RRKM-ME calculations of rate constants and product branching ratios at various temperatures and pressures. The reaction can proceed either by direct hydrogen abstraction producing benzene and three C(3)H(5) radicals [1-propenyl (CH(3)CHCH), 2-propenyl (CH(3)CCH(2)), and allyl (CH(2)CHCH(2))] or by addition of phenyl to the CH or CH(2) units of propylene followed by rearrangements on the C(9)H(11) PES producing nine different products after H or CH(3) losses. The H abstraction channels are found to be kinetically preferable at temperatures relevant to combustion and to contribute 55-75% to the total product yield in the 1000-2000 K temperature range, with the allyl radical being the major product (~45%). The relative contributions of phenyl addition channels are calculated to be ~35% at 1000 K, decreasing to ~15% at 2000 K, with styrene + CH(3) and 3-phenylpropene + H being the major products. Collisional stabilization of C(6)H(5) + C(3)H(6) addition complexes is computed to be significant only at temperatures up to 1000-1200 K, depending on the pressure, and maximizes at low temperatures of 300-700 K reaching up to 90% of the total product yield. At T > 1200 K collisional stabilization becomes negligible, whereas the dissociation products, styrene plus methyl and 3-phenylpropene + H, account for up to 45% of the total product yield. The production of bicyclic aromatic species including indane C(9)H(10) is found to be negligible at all studied conditions indicating that the phenyl addition to propylene cannot be a source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) on the C(9)H(11) PES. Alternatively, the formation of a PAH molecule, indene C(9)H(8), can be accomplished through secondary reactions after activation of a major product of the C(6)H(5) + C(3)H(6) addition reaction, 3-phenylpropene, by direct hydrogen abstraction by small radicals, such as H, OH, CH(3), etc. It is shown that at typical combustion temperatures 77-90% of C(9)H(9) radicals formed by H-abstraction from 3-phenylpropene undergo a closure of a cyclopentene ring via low barriers and then lose a hydrogen atom producing indene. This results in 7.0-14.5% yield of indene relative to the initial C(6)H(5) + C(3)H(6) reactants within the 1000-2000 K temperature range.     

Ultraviolet photodissociation dynamics of the phenyl radical

Ultraviolet (UV) photodissociation dynamics of jet-cooled phenyl radicals (C(6)H(5) and C(6)D(5)) are studied in the photolysis wavelength region of 215-268 nm using high-n Rydberg atom time-of-flight and resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization techniques. The phenyl radicals are produced from 193-nm photolysis of chlorobenzene and bromobenzene precursors. The H-atom photofragment yield spectra have a broad peak centered around 235 nm and are in good agreement with the UV absorption spectra of phenyl. The H + C(6)H(4) product translational energy distributions, P(E(T))'s, peak near ~7 kcal/mol, and the fraction of average translational energy in the total excess energy, , is in the range of 0.20-0.35 from 215 to 268 nm. The H-atom product angular distribution is isotropic. The dissociation rates are in the range of 10(7)-10(8) s(-1) with internal energy from 30 to 46 kcal/mol above the threshold of the lowest energy channel H + o-C(6)H(4) (ortho-benzyne), comparable with the rates from the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus theory. The results from the fully deuterated phenyl radical are identical. The dissociation mechanism is consistent with production of H + o-C(6)H(4), as the main channel from unimolecular decomposition of the ground electronic state phenyl radical following internal conversion of the electronically excited state.     

Reactions of C2H with 1- and 2-butynes: an ab initio/RRKM study of the reaction mechanism and product branching ratios

Ab initio CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ(CBS)//B3LYP/6-311G** calculations of the C(6)H(7) potential energy surface are combined with RRKM calculations of reaction rate constants and product branching ratios to investigate the mechanism and product distribution in the C(2)H + 1-butyne/2-butyne reactions. 2-Ethynyl-1,3-butadiene (C(6)H(6)) + H and ethynylallene (C(5)H(4)) + CH(3) are predicted to be the major products of the C(2)H + 1-butyne reaction. The reaction is initiated by barrierless ethynyl additions to the acetylenic C atoms in 1-butyne and the product branching ratios depend on collision energy and the direction of the initial C(2)H attack. The 2-ethynyl-1,3-butadiene + H products are favored by the central C(2)H addition to 1-butyne, whereas ethynylallene + CH(3) are preferred for the terminal C(2)H addition. A relatively minor product favored at higher collision energies is diacetylene + C(2)H(5). Three other acyclic C(6)H(6) isomers, including 1,3-hexadiene-5-yne, 3,4-hexadiene-1-yne, and 1,3-hexadiyne, can be formed as less important products, but the production of the cyclic C(6)H(6) species, fulvene, and dimethylenecyclobut-1-ene (DMCB), is predicted to be negligible. The qualitative disagreement with the recently measured experimental product distribution of C(6)H(6) isomers is attributed to a possible role of the secondary 2-ethynyl-1,3-butadiene + H reaction, which may generate fulvene as a significant product. Also, the photoionization energy curve assigned to DMCB in experiment may originate from vibrationally excited 2-ethynyl-1,3-butadiene molecules. For the C(2)H + 2-butyne reaction, the calculations predict the C(5)H(4) isomer methyldiacetylene + CH(3) to be the dominant product, whereas very minor products include the C(6)H(6) isomers 1,1-ethynylmethylallene and 2-ethynyl-1,3-butadiene.     

Electronic structure of the cysteine thiyl radical: a DFT and correlated ab initio study

The electronic structure and the unusual EPR parameters of sulfur-centered alkyl thiyl radical from cysteine are investigated by density functional theory (DFT) and correlated ab initio calculations. Three geometry-optimized, staggered conformations of the radical are found that lie within 630 cm(-1) in energy. The EPR g-values are sensitive to the energy difference between the nearly-degenerate singly occupied orbital and one of the lone-pair orbitals (excitation energies of 1732, 1083, and 3429 cm(-1) from Multireference Configuration Interaction calculations for the structures corresponding to the three minima), both of which are almost pure sulfur 3p orbitals. Because of the near degeneracy, the second order correction to the g tensor, which is widely used to analyze g-values of paramagnetic systems, is insufficient to obtain accurate g-values of the cysteine thiyl radical. Instead, an expression for the g tensor must be used in which third order corrections are taken into account. The near-degeneracy can be affected to roughly equal extents by changes in the structure of the radical and by hydrogen bonds to the sulfur. The magnitude of the hyperfine coupling constants for the beta protons of the cysteine thiyl radical is found to depend on the structure of the radical. On the basis of a detailed comparison between experimental and calculated g-values and hyperfine coupling constants an attempt is made to identify the structure of thiyl radicals and the number of hydrogen bonds to the sulfur.     

Preliminary results of a theoretical ab initio model study of adsorption on ionic crystals

The adsorption of metals on ionic surfaces takes place on preferential sites and is affected by the presence of defects. In order to provide some theoretical indication concerning electronic energy changes connected with these effects, we have extended previous work [A. Julg and M. Bourg, J. Phys. Lett. 43 , L243 (1982)] where Li_n clusters embedded in a matrix simulated by point charges had been studied by STO -6G (G-70) calculations. We have treated an Li₂ molecule in the presence of an fcc lattice of positive and negative point charges placed at the distances characteristic of an LiF crystal: The perfect surface as well as steps and point defects have been thus simulated. In this article we briefly describe the results obtained.     

Density functional and ab initio study of the free radical MgNC

A new “non-terrestrial” molecule present in the envelope of the carbon star IRC + 10216 was described for the first time in 1986. Recently, this molecule was identified as the free radical MgNC, the first Mg-containing molecule in space. We present here the first density functional study performed on this radical, as well as on its isomer MgCN and the transition state connecting these species. It is shown that the optimum geometry obtained at the Becke3LYP/6-311+G(3df) level leads to the most exact rotational constants B_e and B_o calculated up to now. It is also shown that the energy differences between the three species are completely in agreement with the best ab initio calculations available. Furthermore, it is shown that the popular MP2 method fails for this system in the same way that has been demonstrated for other radicals.     

An ab initio theoretical study of the optical spectrum of CF2

The ab initio calculation methods have been used to calculate the spectral and electronic characteristics of difluorocarbene in the ground electronic state (¹A₁), the lowest-lying singlet (¹B₁) and triplet (³B₁) states. The optimized equilibrium geometries, rotational constants, harmonic vibrational frequencies and energy gaps, electronic charges, dipole moments of these states have been computed with different basis sets. The calculated vibrational frequency of ³B₁ state (v₂=522 cm^?1) and the energy separation (2.26 eV) between ³B₁ and ¹A₁ states are in good agreement with the experimental results (519 cm^?1, 2.46 eV respectively). According to the calculations the previous assignment of vibrational symmetries of ¹B₁ state was corrected, and some experimentally undetermined vibrational frequencies were predicted.     

Selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide with ammonia: A theoretical ab initio study

Ab initio quantum chemical studies at the HF/Lanl2dz level were carried out to investigate the interaction of ammonia, NO, and a mixture of the two with vanadia/titania. It was found that the replacement of Ti_6c by V_6c is the only feasible way to form highly dispersed vanadia over the titania. The V?O species thus formed will be in octahedral symmetry with the axial distortions, and no tetrahedrally coordinated V species can be formed. Ammonia fully covers the catalyst surface either through the associative interaction with the Lewis acid site of Ti_5c or the dissociative adsorption channels. The dissociation of ammonia on the O site bridging the Ti_6c and V_6c octahedra and on the V?O group can proceed with the highest gain in energy. The formation of an adsorbed ammonium ion was found to be an energetically highly unfavorable process. The V?O group is no longer expected to play a major role in the stabilization of the surface ammonium ion. NO can be activated on the Ti_5c site of the catalyst containing predissociated ammonia on the bridging O site and V?O group. It can be expected that the SCR reaction products are formed through the reactions of both adsorbed NO and NH₂ or the desorbed NH₂ group with NO in the gas phase. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2001     

Ion imaging studies of ClONO2 photodissociation: Primary branching ratios and secondary dissociation

The photodissociation dynamics of ClONO₂ at 235 nm has been reinvestigated using velocity map ion imaging. We report branching ratios for the Cl + NO₃ and ClO + NO₂ channels to be 0.49:0.51 with anisotropy parameters of β = 0.5 ± 0.1 and β = −0.1 ± 0.3 for the Cl and ClO production channels, respectively. Photodissociation at 248 nm and 262 nm results in similar branching ratios and dynamics as observed at 235 nm. Measured O(³P₂) images arising from ClONO₂ dissociation at 226 nm suggest that oxygen atoms result from the spontaneous dissociation of metastable NO₃. The quantum yield of O atoms arising from the spontaneous dissociation of NO₃ varies from 0.09 at 262 to 0.38 at 235 nm based on the derived internal energy distributions of the NO₃ fragments. We also describe a Monte-Carlo forward-convolution fitting of imaging data which permits detailed analysis of both spontaneous secondary dissociation and secondary photodissociation.     

An ab initio study of the structure of the 2-chloroethyl radical

Minimal and split-valence shell basis set calculations, both with and without d orbitais, predict the radical centre to be pyramidal, with the planar radical only 0.3 kcal mol^?1 higher. The barrier to internal rotation is 2 kcal mol^?1. There is no evidence of bridging from chlorine.     

Possible gas-phase ion pairs in amine-HCl complexes. An ab initio theoretical study

Ab initio MO calculations were performed for complexes between HCl and NH₃, CH₃NH₂, (CH₃)₂NH and (CH₃) ₃N. SCF geometry optimization for the latter three complexes gives double-minimum potential surfaces, which become single- minimum surfaces when electron correlation is considered. It is proposed that (CH₃)₃NHCl may be an ion pair in the gas phase.     

Structure of protonated carbon dioxide clusters: infrared photodissociation spectroscopy and ab initio calculations

The infrared photodissociation spectra (IRPD) in the 700 to 4000 cm(-1) region are reported for H+ (CO2)n clusters (n = 1-4) and their complexes with argon. Weakly bound Ar atoms are attached to each complex upon cluster formation in a pulsed electric discharge/supersonic expansion cluster source. An expanded IRPD spectrum of the H+ (CO2)Ar complex, previously reported in the 2600-3000 cm(-1) range [Dopfer, O.; Olkhov, R.V.; Roth, D.; Maier, J.P. Chem. Phys. Lett. 1998, 296, 585-591] reveals new vibrational resonances. For n = 2 to 4, the vibrational resonances involving the motion of the proton are observed in the 750 to 1500 cm(-1) region of the spectrum, and by comparison to the predictions of theory, the structure of the small clusters are revealed. The monomer species has a nonlinear structure, with the proton binding to the lone pair of an oxygen. In the dimer, this nonlinear configuration is preserved, with the two CO2 units in a trans configuration about the central proton. Upon formation of the trimer, the core CO2 dimer ion undergoes a rearrangement, producing a structure with near C2v symmetry, which is preserved upon successive CO2 solvation. While the higher frequency asymmetric CO2 stretch vibrations are unaffected by the presence of the weakly attached Ar atom, the dynamics of the shared proton motions are substantially altered, largely due to the reduction in symmetry of each complex. For n = 2 to 4, the perturbation due to Ar leads to blue shifts of proton stretching vibrations that involve motion of the proton mostly parallel to the O-H+-O axis of the core ion. Moreover, proton stretching motions perpendicular to this axis exhibit smaller shifts, largely to the red. Ab initio (MP2) calculations of the structures, complexation energies, and harmonic vibrational frequencies are also presented, which support the assignments of the experimental spectra.     

Internal rotation in squaramide and related compounds. A theoretical ab initio study

The structural and energetic changes associated with C–N bond rotation in a squaric acid derivative as well as in formamide, 3-aminoacrolein and vinylamine have been studied theoretically using ab initio molecular orbital methods. Geometry optimizations at the MP2(full)/6-31+G* level confirmed an increase in the C–N bond length and a smaller decrease in the C=O length on going from the equilibrium geometry to the twisted transition state. Other geometrical changes are also discussed. Energies calculated at the QCISD(T)/6-311+G** level, including zero-point-energy correction, show barrier heights decreasing in the order formamide, squaric acid derivative, 3-aminoacrolein and vinylamine. The origin of the barriers were examined using the atoms-in-molecules approach of Bader and the natural bond orbital population analysis. The calculations agree with Pauling's resonance model, and the main contributing factor of the barrier is assigned to the loss of conjugation on rotating the C–N bond. Finally, molecular interaction potential calculations were used to study the changes in the nucleophilicity of N and O (carbonyl) atoms upon C–N rotation, and to obtain a picture of the abilities of the molecules to act in nonbonded interactions, in particular hydrogen bonds. The molecular interaction potential results confirm the suitability of squaramide units for acting as binding units in host–guest chemistry. Received: 13 March 2002 / Accepted: 23 June 2002 / Published online: 21 August 2002     

An ab initio study of the CH3I photodissociation. I. Potential energy surfaces

The multireference spin-orbit (SO) configuration interaction (CI) method in its Lambda-S contracted SO-CI version is employed to calculate two-dimensional potential energy surfaces for the ground and low-lying excited states of CH3I relevant to the photodissociation process in its A absorption band. The computed equilibrium geometry for the X A1 ground state, as well as vibrational frequencies for the nu2 umbrella and nu3 symmetric stretch modes, are found to be in good agreement with available experimental data. The 3Q0+ state converging to the excited I(2P1/2o) limit is found to possess a shallow minimum of 850 cm(-1) strongly shifted to larger internuclear distances (RC-I approximately 6.5a0) relative to the ground state. This makes a commonly employed single-exponent approximation for analysis of the CH3I fragmentation dynamics unsuitable. The 4E(3A1) state dissociating to the same atomic limit is calculated to lie too high in the Franck-Condon region to have any significant impact on the A-band absorption. The computed vertical excitation energies for the 3Q1, 3Q0+, and 1Q states indicate that the A-band spectrum must lie approximately between 33,000 and 44,300 cm(-1), i.e., between 225 and 300 nm. This result is in very good agreement with the experimental findings. The lowest Rydberg states are computed to lie at >or=49,000 cm(-1) and correspond to the ...a(1)2n3a1(6sI) leading configuration. They are responsible for the vacuum ultraviolet absorption lines found experimentally beyond the A-band spectrum at 201.1 nm (49,722 cm(-1)) and higher.     

A theoretical study of malonate and formate calcium binding by ab initio techniques

Ab initio calculations at the STO—3G level have been performed on the binding of CA(II) ion to malonate and formate with and without d orbitals in the basis set for the CA(II) ion. The malonate and formate binding results with CA(II) are similar. The addition of d orbitals to CA(II) has little effect on the conformational minimum. The results are qualitatively similar to those from our previous calculations on the Mg²⁺—malonate interaction: a single carboxyl interaction with the metal ion appears to be preferred over a conformation in which two carboxyl groups bind to Ca(II). Moreover, the single carboxyl group interaction with CA(II) appears to be favored over the binding of CA(II) to a single oxygen of a carboxyl group.     

Spin-orbit ab initio investigation of the photodissociation of C2H5Br

The photodissociation of ethyl bromide (C₂H₅Br) has been investigated by spin-orbit (SO) ab initio calculations. The vertical excitation energies of some excited states for C₂H₅Br were calculated. The potential energy curves of C₂H₅Br along the C–Br dissociation coordinate were calculated by multistate second-order multiconfigurational perturbation theory in conjunction with spin-orbit (SO) interaction through complete active space state interaction (MS-CASPT2/CASSI-SO). The calculated results clearly assigned the experimentally observed photodissociation channels leading to C₂H₅ + Br (²P_3/2) and C₂H₅ + Br*(²P_1/2).     

Photochemistry of hydrogen bonded heterocycles probed by photodissociation experiments and ab initio methods

In this perspective article, we focus on the photochemistry of five-membered nitrogen containing heterocycles (pyrrole, imidazole and pyrazole) in clusters. These heterocycles represent paradigmatic structures for larger biologically active heterocyclic molecules and complexes. The dimers of the three molecules are also archetypes of different bonding patterns: N-H···π interaction, N-H···N hydrogen bond and double hydrogen bond. We briefly review available data on photochemistry of the title molecules in the gas phase, but primarily we focus on the new reaction channels opened upon the complexation with other heterocycles or solvent molecules. Based on ab initio calculations we discuss various possible reactions in the excited states of the clusters: (1) hydrogen dissociation, (2) hydrogen transfer between the heterocyclic units, (3) molecular ring distortion, and (4) coupled electron-proton transfer. The increasing photostability with complexity of the system can be inferred from experiments with photodissociation in these clusters. A unified view on photoinduced processes in five-membered N-heterocycles is provided. We show that even though different deactivation channels are energetically possible for the complexed heterocycles, in most cases the major result is a fast reconstruction of the ground state. The complexed or solvated heterocycles are thus inherently photostable although the stability can in principle be achieved via different reaction routes.     

Active site structure and mechanism of human glyoxalase I-an ab initio theoretical study.

The structure of the active site of human glyoxalase I and the reaction mechanism of the enzyme-catalyzed conversion of the thiohemiacetal, formed from methylglyoxal and glutathione, to S-D-lactoylglutathione has been investigated by ab initio quantum chemical calculations. To realistically represent the environment of the reaction center, the effective fragment potential methodology has been employed, which allows systems of several hundred atoms to be described quantum mechanically. The methodology and the active site model have been validated by optimizing the structure of a known enzyme-inhibitor complex, which yielded structures in good agreement with the experiment. The same crystal structure has been used to obtain the quantum motif for the investigation of the glyoxalase I reaction. The results of our study confirm that the metal center of the active site zinc complex plays a direct catalytic role by binding the substrate and stabilizing the proposed enediolate reaction intermediate. In addition, our calculations yielded detailed information about the interactions of the substrate, the reaction intermediates, and the product with the active site of the enzyme and about the mechanism of the glyoxalase I reaction. The proton transfers of the reaction proceed via the two highly flexible residues Glu172 and Glu99. Information about the structural and energetic effect of the protein on the first-shell complex has been attained by comparison of the structures optimized in the local protein environment and in a vacuum. The environment of the zinc complex disturbs the Cs symmetry found for the complex in a vacuum, which suggests an explanation for the stereochemical behavior of glyoxalase I.