Bromine-loss and hydrogen-loss dissociations in low-lying electronic states of the CH3Br+ ion studied using multiconfiguration second-order perturbation theory

Complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and multiconfiguration second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) calculations with an ANO-RCC basis were performed for the 1(2)A', 1(2)A", 2(2)A', and 2(2)A" states of the CH3Br+ ion. The 1(2)A' state is predicted to be the ground state. The 2(2)A' state is predicted to be a bound state. The adiabatic and vertical excitation energies and the relative energies at the molecular geometry were calculated, and the energetic results for 2(2)A' and 2(2)A" are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data. Potential energy curves (PECs) for Br-loss and H-loss dissociations from the four C(s) states were calculated at the CASPT2//CASSCF level and the electronic states of the CH3(+) and CH2Br(+) ions as the dissociation products were determined by checking the relative energies and geometries of the asymptote products along the PECs. In the Br-loss dissociation, the 1(2)A', 1(2)A", and 2(2)A' states correlate with CH3(+) (X1A1') and the 2(2)A" state correlates with CH3(+) (1(3)A"). The energy increases monotonically with the R(C-Br) value along the four Br-loss PECs. In the H-loss dissociation the 1(2)A', 1(2)A", 2(2)A', and 2(2)A" states correlate with the X(1)A(1), 1(3)A", 1(3)A', and 1(1)A" states (1(3)A' lying above 1(1)A") of CH2Br(+), respectively. Along the 2(2)A" H-loss PEC there is an energy barrier and the CASSCF wave functions at large R(C-H) values have shake-up ionization character. Along the 2(2)A' H-loss PEC there are an energy barrier and a minimum. At the end of the present paper we present a comprehensive review on the electronic states and the X-loss and H-loss dissociations of the CH(3)X(+) (X = F, Cl, and Br) ions on the basis of our previous studies and the present study.     

Cl-loss and H-loss dissociations in low-lying electronic states of the CH3Cl+ ion studied using multiconfiguration second-order perturbation theory

To examine the experimentally suggested scheme of the pathways for Cl- and H-loss dissociations of the CH(3)Cl(+) ion in the X(2)E (1(2)A', 1(2)A' '), A(2)A(1) (2(2)A'), and B(2)E (3(2)A', 2(2)A") states, the complete active space-self-consistent field (CASSCF) and multiconfiguration second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) calculations with an atomic natural orbital (ANO) basis were performed for the 1(2)A' (X(2)A'), 1(2)A", 2(2)A', and 2(2)A'" states. The potential energy curves describing dissociation from the four C(s) states were obtained on the basis of the CASSCF partial geometry optimization calculations at fixed C-Cl or C-H distance values, followed by the CASPT2 energy calculations. The electronic states of the CH3(+) and CH(2)Cl(+) ions produced by Cl-loss and H-loss dissociation, respectively, were carefully determined. Our calculations confirm the following experimental facts: Cl-loss dissociation occurs from the 1(2)A' (X(2)A'), 1(2)A", and 2(2)A' states (all leading to CH3(+) (X(1)A(1)') + Cl), and H-loss dissociation does not occur from 2(2)A'. The calculations indicate that H-loss dissociation occurs from the 1(2)A' and 1(2)A' ' states (leading to CH(2)Cl(+) (X(1)A(1)) + H and CH(2)Cl(+) (1(3)A") + H, respectively). The calculations also indicate that H-loss dissociation occurs (with a barrier) from the 2(2)A" state (leading to CH(2)Cl(+) (1(1)A") + H), supporting the observation of direct dissociation from the B state to CH(2)Cl(+) and that Cl-loss dissociation occurs from the 2(2)A" state (leading to CH3(+) (1(3)A") + Cl), not supporting the previously proposed Cl-loss dissociation of the B state via internal conversion of B to A. The predicted appearance potential values for CH3(+) (X(1)A(1)') and CH(2)Cl(+) (X(1)A(1)) are in good agreement with the experimental values.     

Low-lying electronic states and Cl-loss photodissociation of the C2H3Cl+ ion studied using multiconfiguration second-order perturbation theory

We studied the 1(2)A' '(X2A' '), 1(2)A' (A2A'), 2(2)A' ' (B2A' '), and 2(2)A' (C2A') states of the C2H3Cl+ ion using the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and multiconfiguration second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) methods. For the four ionic states, we calculated the equilibrium geometries, adiabatic (T0) and vertical (Tv) excitation energies, and relative energies (Tv') at the geometry of the molecule at the CASPT2 level and the Cl-loss dissociation potential energy curves (PECs) at the CASPT2//CASSCF level. The computed oscillator strength f value for the X2A' ' <-- A2A' transition is very small, which is in line with the experimental fact that the A state has a long lifetime. The CASPT2 geometry and T0 value for the A2A' state are in good agreement with experiment. The CASPT2 Tv' values for the A2A', B2A' ', and C2A' states are in good agreement with experiment. The Cl-loss PEC calculations predict that the X2A' ', A2A', and C2A' states correlate to C2H3+ (XA1) and the BA' ' state to C2H3+ (1A' ') (the B2A' ' and C2A' PECs cross at R(C-Cl) approximately 2.24 A). Our calculations indicate that at 357 nm the X2A' ' state can undergo a transition to B2A' ' followed by a predissociation of B2A' ' by the repulsive C2A' state (via the B/C crossing), leading to C2H3+ (X1A1), and therefore confirm the experimentally proposed pathway for the photodissociation of X2A' ' at 357 nm. Our CASPT2 D0 calculations support the experimental fact that the X state does not undergo dissociation in the visible spectral region and imply that a direct dissociation of the A state to C2H3+ (X1A1) is energetically feasible.     

多组态二级微扰理论计算CH3O2激发光谱以及CH3O2→CH3＋O2解离反应

在C_s对称性和aug-cc-pVTZ基组水平下, 采用全活化空间自洽场方法(CASSCF)研究了CH₃O₂自由基基态及其阴阳离子的12个低激发态. 为了进一步考虑动态电子相关效应, 采用二级多组态微扰理论(CASPT2)获得更加精确的能量值. 所有计算得到的电子态都是价电子态, 而且所得绝热激发能和电子亲和势与实验值非常接近.在CASPT2//CASSCF理论水平下计算了CH₃O₂从²A"和²A'电子态的CH₃O₂→CH₃＋O₂的解离反应的势能曲线(PECs). 优化得到的裂解产物的几何结构和能量与分别优化CH₃和O₂得到的结果进行比较, 从而确定裂解产物的电子态. 结果表明, 从²A"和²A'电子态的解离反应分别对应产物CH₃(²A")＋O₂(³A")和CH₃(²A")＋O₂(¹A").     

X, A, B, C, and D states of the C6H5F+ ion studied using multiconfiguration wave functions

Electronic states of the C6H5F+ ion have been studied within C2v symmetry by using the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and multiconfiguration second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) methods in conjunction with an atomic natural orbital basis. Vertical excitation energies (Tv) and relative energies (Tv') at the ground-state geometry of the C6H5F molecule were calculated for 12 states. For the five lowest-lying states, 1(2)B1, 1(2)A2, 2(2)B1, 1(2)B2, and 1(2)A1, geometries and vibrational frequencies were calculated at the CASSCF level, and adiabatic excitation energies (T0) and potential energy curves (PEC) for F-loss dissociations were calculated at the CASPT2//CASSCF level. On the basis of the CASPT2 T0 calculations, we assign the X, A, B, C, and D states of the ion to 1(2)B1, 1(2)A2, 2(2)B1, 1(2)B2, and 1(2)A1, respectively, which supports the suggested assignment of the B state to (2)(2)B1 by Anand et al. based on their experiments. Our CASPT2 Tv and Tv' calculations and our MRCI T0, Tv, and Tv' calculations all indicate that the 2(2)B1 state of C6H5F+ lies below 1(2)B2. By checking the relative energies of the asymptote products and checking the fragmental geometries and the charge and spin density populations in the asymptote products along the CASPT2//CASSCF PECs, we conclude that the 1(2)B1, 1(2)B2, and 1(2)A1 states of C6H5F+ correlate with C6H5+ (1(1)A1) + F (2P) (the first dissociation limit). The energy increases monotonically along the 1(2)B1 PEC, and there are barriers and minima along the 1(2)B2 and 1(2)A1 PECs. The predicted appearance potential value for C6H5+ (1(1)A1) is very close to the average of the experimental values. Our CASPT2//CASSCF PEC calculations have led to the conclusion that the 1(2)A2 state of C6H5F+ correlates with the third dissociation limit of C6H5+ (1(1)A2) + F (2P), and a preliminary discussion is presented.     

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

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

Theoretical study of isomerization and dissociation of acetylene dication in the ground and excited electronic states

Ab initio calculations employing the configuration interaction method including Davidson's corrections for quadruple excitations have been carried out to unravel the dissociation mechanism of acetylene dication in various electronic states and to elucidate ultrafast acetylene-vinylidene isomerization recently observed experimentally. Both in the ground triplet and the lowest singlet electronic states of C2H2(2+) the proton migration barrier is shown to remain high, in the range of 50 kcal/mol. On the other hand, the barrier in the excited 2 3A" and 1 3A' states decreases to about 15 and 34 kcal/mol, respectively, indicating that the ultrafast proton migration is possible in these states, especially, in 2 3A", even at relatively low available vibrational energies. Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus calculations of individual reaction-rate constants and product branching ratios indicate that if C2H(2)2+ dissociates from the ground triplet state, the major reaction products should be CCH+(3Sigma-)+H+ followed by CH+(3Pi)+CH+(1Sigma+) and with a minor contribution (approximately 1%) of C2H+(2A1)+C+(2P). In the lowest singlet state, C2H+(2A1)+C+(2P) are the major dissociation products at low available energies when the other channels are closed, whereas at Eint>5 eV, the CCH+(1A')+H+ products have the largest branching ratio, up to 70% and higher, that of CH+(1Sigma+)+CH+(1Sigma+) is in the range of 25%-27%, and the yield of C2H++C+ is only 2%-3%. The calculated product branching ratios at Eint approximately 17 eV are in qualitative agreement with the available experimental data. The appearance thresholds calculated for the CCH++H+, CH++CH+, and C2H++C+ products are 34.25, 35.12, and 34.55 eV. The results of calculations in the presence of strong electric field show that the field can make the vinylidene isomer unstable and the proton elimination spontaneous, but is unlikely to significantly reduce the barrier for the acetylene-vinylidene isomerization and to render the acetylene configuration unstable or metastable with respect to proton migration.     

Dissociation of the OCS+ ion in low-lying electronic states studied using multiconfiguration second-order perturbation theory

Complete active space self-consistent-field (CASSCF) and multiconfiguration second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) calculations with atomic natural orbital basis sets were performed to investigate the S-loss direct dissociation of the 1 2Pi(X 2Pi), 2 2Pi(A 2Pi), 1 2Sigma+(B 2Sigma+), 1 4Sigma-, 1 2Sigma-, and 1 2Delta states of the OCS+ ion and the predissociations of the 1 2Pi, 2 2Pi, and 1 2Sigma+ states. Our calculations indicate that the S-loss dissociation products of the OCS(+) ion in the six states are the ground-state CO molecule plus the S+ ion in different electronic states. The CASPT2//CASSCF potential energy curves were calculated for the S-loss dissociation from the six states. The calculations indicate that the dissociation of the 1 4Sigma- state leads to the CO + S+ (4Su) products representing the first dissociation limit; the dissociations of the 1 2Pi, 1 2Sigma-, and 1 2Delta states lead to the CO + S+(2Du) products representing the second dissociation limit; and the dissociations of the 2 2Pi and 1 2Sigma+ states lead to the CO + S+(2Pu) products representing the third dissociation limit. Seams of the 1 2Pi-1 4Sigma-, 2 2Pi-1 4Sigma-, 2 2Pi-1 2Sigma-, 2 2Pi-1 2Delta, and 1 2Sigma(+)-1 4Sigma- potential energy surface intersections were calculated at the CASPT2 level, and the minima along the seams were located. The calculations indicate that within the experimental energy range (15.07-16.0 eV) the 2 2Pi(A 2Pi) state can be predissociated by 1 4Sigma- forming the S+(4Su) ion and can undergo internal conversion to 1 2Pi followed by the direct dissociation of 1 2Pi forming S+(2Du) and that within the experimental energy range (16.04-16.54 eV) the 1 2Sigma+(B 2Sigma+) state can be predissociated by 1 4Sigma- forming the S+(4Su) ion and can undergo internal conversion to 2 2Pi followed by the predissociation of 2 2Pi by 1 2Sigma- and 1 2Delta forming the S+(2Du) ion. These indications are in line with the experimental fact that both the 4Su and 2Du states of the S+ ion can be formed from the 2 2Pi and 1 2Sigma+ states of the OCS+ ion.     

Combined vacuum ultraviolet laser and synchrotron pulsed field ionization study of CH2BrCl

The pulsed field ionization-photoelectron (PFI-PE) spectrum of bromochloromethane (CH2BrCl) in the region of 85,320-88,200 cm-1 has been measured using vacuum ultraviolet laser. The vibrational structure resolved in the PFI-PE spectrum was assigned based on ab initio quantum chemical calculations and Franck-Condon factor predictions. At energies 0-1400 cm-1 above the adiabatic ionization energy (IE) of CH2BrCl, the Br-C-Cl bending vibration progression (nu1+=0-8) of CH2BrCl+ is well resolved and constitutes the major structure in the PFI-PE spectrum, whereas the spectrum at energies 1400-2600 cm-1 above the IE(CH2BrCl) is found to exhibit complex vibrational features, suggesting perturbation by the low lying excited CH2BrCl+(A 2A") state. The assignment of the PFI-PE vibrational bands gives the IE(CH2BrCl)=85,612.4+/-2.0 cm-1 (10.6146+/-0.0003 eV) and the bending frequencies nu1+(a1')=209.7+/-2.0 cm-1 for CH2BrCl+(X2A'). We have also examined the dissociative photoionization process, CH2BrCl+hnu-->CH2Cl++Br+e-, in the energy range of 11.36-11.57 eV using the synchrotron based PFI-PE-photoion coincidence method, yielding the 0 K threshold or appearance energy AE(CH2Cl+)=11.509+/-0.002 eV. Combining the 0 K AE(CH2Cl+) and IE(CH2BrCl) values obtained in this study, together with the known IE(CH2Cl), we have determined the 0 K bond dissociation energies (D0) for CH2Cl+-Br (0.894+/-0.002 eV) and CH2Cl-Br (2.76+/-0.01 eV). We have also performed CCSD(T, full)/complete basis set (CBS) calculations with high-level corrections for the predictions of the IE(CH2BrCl), AE(CH2Cl+), IE(CH2Cl), D0(CH2Cl+-Br), and D0(CH2Cl-Br). The comparison between the theoretical predictions and experimental determinations indicates that the CCSD(T, full)/CBS calculations with high-level corrections are highly reliable with estimated error limits of <17 meV.     

Ab initio study of the spectroscopy of CH3N and CH3CH2N

Complete active space (CAS) calculations with 6-311++g(3df,3pd) basis sets were performed for a large number of electronic states of the nitrate free radical (CH3N/CH3CH2N) and their positive and negative ions. All calculated states are valence states, and their characters are discussed in detail. To investigate the Jahn-Teller effect on the CH3N radical, Cs symmetry was used for both CH3N and CH3CH2N in calculations. The results (CASPT2 adiabatic excitation energies and CASSI oscillator strengths) suggest that the calculated transitions of CH3N at 32172 and 32139 cm(-1) are attributed to the 2(3)A' ' --> 1(3)A' ' and 1(3)A' --> 1(3)A' ', respectively, which is in accordance with the A3E --> X3A2 emission spectrum at T0 = 31 817 cm(-1). The calculated transitions of CH3CH2N at 334 nm are attributed to the 1(3)A' ' --> 2(3)A' ' and 1(3)A' ' --> 1(3)A', respectively, which is in accordance with the UV absorption spectrum of a series of 11 bands beginning at 335 nm. The vertical and adiabatic ionization energies were obtained to compare with the PES data. These results are in agreement with previous experimental data, which is discussed in detail.     

Dissociative photoionization of methyl chloride studied with threshold photoelectron-photoion coincidence velocity imaging

Utilizing threshold photoelectron-photoion coincidence (TPEPICO) velocity imaging, dissociation of state-selected CH(3)Cl(+) ions was investigated in the excitation energy range of 11.0-18.5 eV. TPEPICO time-of-flight mass spectra and three-dimensional time-sliced velocity images of CH(3)(+) dissociated from CH(3)Cl(+)(A(2)A(1) and B(2)E) ions were recorded. CH(3)(+) was kept as the most dominant fragment ion in the present energy range, while the branching ratio of CH(2)Cl(+) fragment was very low. For dissociation of CH(3)Cl(+)(A(2)A(1)) ions, a series of homocentric rings was clearly observed in the CH(3)(+) image, which was assigned as the excitation of umbrella vibration of CH(3)(+) ions. Moreover, a dependence of anisotropic parameters on the vibrational states of CH(3)(+)(1(1)A') provided a direct experimental evidence of a shallow potential well along the C-Cl bond rupture. For CH(3)Cl(+)(B(2)E) ions, total kinetic energy released distribution for CH(3)(+) fragmentation showed a near Maxwell-Boltzmann profile, indicating that the Cl-loss pathway from the B(2)E state was statistical predissociation. With the aid of calculated Cl-loss potential energy curves of CH(3)Cl(+), CH(3)(+) formation from CH(3)Cl(+)(A(2)A(1)) ions was a rapid direct fragmentation, while CH(3)Cl(+)(B(2)E) ions statistically dissociated to CH(3)(+) + Cl via internal conversion to the high vibrational states of X(2)E.     

Electronic structure calculations of low-lying electronic states of O3

Configuration-based multi-reference second order perturbation theory (CB-MRPT2) and multi-reference configuration interaction with single and double excitations (MRCISD) have been used to calculate the bending and dissociation potential energy curves (PECs) of ozone. Based on these PECs, equilibrium structures, vertical and adiabatic transition energies of the ground state and several low-lying excited states, as well as intersections and avoided crossings among the states displayed on the PECs are investigated. The energy separation of the open and ring structures and the dissociation energy of the ground state X(1)A(1) are determined by reference-selected MRCISD. Furthermore, one-dimensional cuts along the dissociation reaction coordinate for the lowest four electronic states of O(3) with (1)A' symmetry and possible pre-dissociations are studied. The Hartley band may be pre-dissociable, and the pre-dissociation limit is found to be 3871 cm(-1), which corresponds to symmetric stretching quanta n(ss) ≈ 6.     

A comparative electron correlation treatment in H(2)S-benzene dimer with DFT and wavefunction-based ab initio methods

The S₀ (X¹A′), T₁ (a³A″), S₁ (A¹A″), T₂ (b³A′), and S₂ (B¹A′) states of the (trans-)HONO molecule were studied by using the CASSCF and CASPT2 methods. The CASPT2(//CASPT2) adiabatic and vertical excitation energy values are in good agreement with available experimental data. The CASPT2//CASSCF potential energy curves (PECs) calculations indicate that: (i) all the five states correlate with the products of OH (X²Π) + NO (X²Π); (ii) along each of the T₁, S₁, and T₂ PECs there is a minimum followed by a transition state (barrier); and (iii) the repulsive S₂ PEC crosses the T₂, S₁, and T₁ PECs. The geometries and relative energies for the stationary points along these PECs were calculated at the CASPT2(//CASPT2) level, and the calculations predict that the barrier height value for S₁ is negligibly small (0.0018 eV).     

Electronic absorption spectra of C3Cl, C4Cl, and their ions in neon matrices

Electronic absorption spectra of C3Cl, C3Cl+, C3Cl-, C4Cl, and C4Cl+ have been recorded in 6 K neon matrices following mass selection. Ab initio calculations were performed (CCSD(T) and CASSCF) to identify the ground and accessible excited states of each molecule. The estimated excitation energies and transition moments aid the assignment. The absorptions observed for C3Cl are the 5(2)A' <-- X(2)A' and 3(2)A' <-- X(2)A' transitions of the bent isomer and the (2)A1 <-- X(2)B2 transition of the cyclic form in the UV (336.1 nm), visible (428.7 nm), and near-IR (1047 nm) regions, respectively. The band systems for bent C3Cl- (435.2 nm) and linear C3Cl+ (413.2 nm) are both in the visible region and correspond to 2(1)A' <-- X(1)A' and (1)pi <-- X(1)sigma+ type transitions. The C4Cl and C4Cl+ chains are linear, and the band origins of the 2(2)pi <-- X(2)pi and 2(3)pi <-- X(3)pi electronic transitions are at 427.0 and 405.7 nm. The spectral assignments are supported by analysis of the vibrational structure associated with each electronic transition.     

Radiative association of He+ with H2 at temperatures below 100 K

The paper presents a theoretical study of the low-energy dynamics of radiative association processes in the He+ + H2 collision system. Formation of the triatomic HeH2(+) ion in its bound rotation-vibration states on the potential-energy surfaces of the ground and of the first excited electronic states is investigated. Close-coupling calculations are performed to determine detailed state-to-state characteristics (bound <-- free transition rates, radiative and dissociative widths of resonances) as well as temperature-average characteristics (rate constants, photon emission spectra) of the two-state (X <-- A) reaction He+(2S) + H2(X1sigma(g)+) --> HeH2(+)(X2A') + h nu and of the single-state (A <-- A) reaction He+(2S) + H2(X1sigma(g)+) --> HeH2(+)(A2A') + h nu. The potential-energy surfaces of the X- and A-electronic states of HeH2(+) and the dipole moment surfaces determined ab initio in an earlier work [Kraemer, Spirko, and Bludsky, Chem. Phys. 276, 225 (2002)] are used in the calculations. The rate constants k(T) as functions of temperature are calculated for the temperature interval 1 < or = T < or = 100 K. The maximum k(T) values are predicted as 3.3 x 10(-15) s(-1) cm3 for the X <-- A reaction and 2.3 x 10(-20) s(-1) cm3 for the A <-- A reaction at temperatures around 2 K. Rotationally predissociating states of the He+-H2 complex, correlating with the upsilon = 0, j = 2 state of free H2, are found to play a crucial role in the dynamics of the association reactions at low temperatures; their contribution to the k(T) function of the X <-- A reaction at T < 30 K is estimated as larger than 80%. The calculated partial rate constants and emission spectra show that in the X <-- A reaction the HeH2(+)(X) ion is formed in its highly excited vibrational states. This is in contrast with the vibrational state population of the ion when formed via the (X <-- X) reaction He(1S) + H2(+)(X2sigma(g)+) --> HeH2(+)(X2A') + h nu.     

Experimental and theoretical study of the carbon-13 and deuterium kinetic isotope effects in the Cl and OH reactions of CH3F

A laser flash photolysis-resonance fluorescence technique has been employed to determine absolute rate coefficients for the CH3F + Cl reaction in N2 bath gas in the temperature range of 200-700 K and pressure range of 33-133 hPa. The data were fitted to a modified Arrhenius expression k(T) = 1.14 x 10(-12) x (T/298)2.26 exp{-313/T}. The OH and Cl reaction rates of (13)CH3F and CD3F have been measured by long-path FTIR spectroscopy relative to CH3F at 298 +/- 2 K and 1013 +/- 10 hPa in purified air. The FTIR spectra were fitted using a nonlinear least-squares spectral fitting method including line data from the HITRAN database and measured infrared spectra as references. The relative reaction rates defined by alpha = k(light)/k(heavy) were determined to be k(OH+CH3F)/k(OH+CD3F) = 4.067 +/- 0.018, k(OH+CH3F)/k(OH+(13)CH3F) = 1.067 +/- 0.006, k(Cl+CH3F)/k(Cl+CD3F) = 5.11 +/- 0.07, and k(Cl+CH3F)/k(Cl+(13)CH3F) = 1.016 +/- 0.006. The carbon-13 and deuterium kinetic isotope effects in the OH and Cl reactions of CH3F have been further investigated by quantum chemistry methods and variational transition state theory.     

Quantum chemical and statistical rate investigation of the CF2(a3B1)+NO(X2Pi) reaction: a fast chemical quenching process

The reaction of CF2(a3B1) with NO(X2Pi) was theoretically investigated using the B3LYP, MP2, CCSD(T), G2M, CASSCF, and CASPT2 quantum chemical methods with various basis sets including 6-31G(d), 6-311G(d), 6-311+G(3df), cc-pVDZ, and cc-pVTZ. In agreement with the experimental kinetic data, the CF2(a3B1)+NO(X2Pi) reaction is found to proceed via a fast, barrier-free combination. This process, occurring on the doublet potential energy surface, leads to the electronically excited adduct F2C-NO(22A'), which readily undergoes a surface hopping to the 12A' electronic surface, with a Landau-Zener transition probability estimated to be close to 90% per C-N vibration. The metastable adduct F2C-NO(12A') can then either spontaneously decompose into CF2(X1A1)+NO(X2Pi) in a direct chemical quenching mechanism or relax to its ground-state equilibrium structure F2CNO(X2A'). The product distribution resulting from the latter, chemically activated intermediate was evaluated by solution of the master equation (ME), under different reaction conditions, using the exact stochastic simulation method; microcanonical rate constants were computed using Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) theory, based on the potential energy surfaces (PESs) constructed using both G2M and CASPT2 methods. The RRKM/ME analysis reveals that the hot F2CNO(X2A') rapidly fragments almost exclusively to the same products as above, CF2(X1A1)+NO(X2Pi), which amounts to an indirect chemical quenching mechanism. The reaction on the quartet PES is unlikely to be significant except at very high temperatures. The high crossing probability (up to 90%) between the two "avoided" doublet PESs points out the inherent difficulty in treating chemically activated reactions with fast-moving nuclei within the Born-Oppenheimer approximation.     

Ab initio study on the ground and low-lying excited states of cesium iodide (CsI)

Potential energy curves (PECs) for the ground and low-lying excited states of the cesium iodide (CsI) molecule have been calculated using the internally contracted multireference configuration interaction calculation with single and double excitation method with the relativistic pseudopotentials. PECs for seven Lambda-S states, X 1Sigma+, 2 1Sigma+, 3Sigma+, 1Pi, and 3Pi are first calculated and then those for 13 Omega states are obtained by diagonalizing the matrix of the electronic Hamiltonian H(el) plus the effective one-electron spin-orbit (SO) Hamiltonian H(SO). Spectroscopic constants for the calculated ground X 0+-state PEC with the Davidson correction are found to agree well with the experiment. Transition dipole moments (TDMs) between X 0 and the other Omega states are also obtained and the TDM between X 0+ and A 0+ is predicted to be the largest and that between X 0+ and B 0+ is the second largest around the equilibrium internuclear distance. The TDMs between X 0+ and the Omega=1 states are estimated to be nonzero, but they are notably small as compared with those between the 0+ states. Finally, vibrational levels of the X 0+ PEC for the two isotopic analogs, (133)CsI and (135)CsI, are numerically obtained to investigate the isotope effect on the vibrational-level shift. It has been found that the maximized available isotope shift is approximately 30 cm(-1) around nu=136.     

Photofragmentation of dichloromethanol Cl2CHOH along C-O and C-Cl cleavages: a theoretical study

Multireference configuration interaction calculations are carried out for ground and excited states of dichloromethanol, Cl2CHOH, to investigate two important photofragmentation processes relevant to atmospheric chemistry. Five low-lying excited states (1(1)A", 2(1)A', 1(3)A", 2(3)A" and 1(3)A') in the energy range between 6.4 and 7.5 eV are found to be highly repulsive for C-Cl elongation, leading to ClCHOH (X2A) and Cl (X2P). Photodissociation along the C-O bond resulting in CHCl2 (X2A') and OH (X2II) has to overcome a barrier of about 0.5 eV because the low-lying excited states 1(1)A", 1(3)A' and 1(3)A" become repulsive only after the C-O bond is elongated by about 0.3 A.     

A photodissociation study of CH2BrCl in the A-band using the time-sliced ion velocity imaging method

Employing a high-resolution (velocity resolution deltanu/nu<1.5%) time-sliced ion velocity imaging apparatus, we have examined the photodissociation of CH2BrCl in the photon energy range of 448.6-618.5 kJ/mol (193.3-266.6 nm). Precise translational and angular distributions for the dominant Br(2P32) and Br(2P12) channels have been determined from the ion images observed for Br(2P32) and Br(2P12). In confirmation with the previous studies, the kinetic-energy distributions for the Br(2P12) channel are found to fit well with one Gaussian function, whereas the kinetic- energy distributions for the Br(2P32) channel exhibit bimodal structures and can be decomposed into a slow and a fast Gaussian component. The observed kinetic-energy distributions are consistent with the conclusion that the formation of the Br(2P32) and Br(2P12) channels takes place on a repulsive potential-energy surface, resulting in a significant fraction (0.40-0.47) of available energy to appear as translational energy for the photo fragments. On the basis of the detailed kinetic-energy distributions and anisotropy parameters obtained in the present study, together with the specific features and relative absorption cross sections of the excited 2A', 1A", 3A', 4A', and 2A" states estimated in previous studies, we have rationalized the dissociation pathways of CH2BrCl in the A-band, leading to the formation of the Br(2P32) and Br(2P12) channels. The analysis of the ion images observed at 235 nm for Cl(2P(32,12)) provides strong evidence that the formation of Cl mainly arises from the secondary photodissociation process CH2Cl + hnu --> CH2 + Cl.