Ab initio study of sulfur isotope fractionation in the reaction of OCS with OH

The fractionation of sulfur isotopes in the gas-phase reaction of OCS with OH was calculated by ab initio methods. The first reaction step occurs through a carbon bonded OH–OCS transition state. The activation barrier is 18.4 kJ mol⁻¹ (CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ level plus zero-point energy) relative to the reactants. Fractionation constants are −1.4, −2.6 and −6.3‰ for ³³S, ³⁴S and ³⁶S respectively. These results bring new insight regarding the origin of stratospheric sulfate aerosols, including the identification of characteristic isotopic fractionations in the lower and middle stratosphere.