Quantum chemistry and kinetics of hydrogen sulphide oxidation.

A fundamental understanding of the acid gas (H2S and CO2) chemistry is key to efficiently implement the desulphurisation process and even the production of clean fuels such as hydrogen or syngas. In this work, we developed a new kinetic model for the pyrolysis and oxidation of hydrogen sulphide by merging two previously reported models with the goal of covering a wider range of conditions and including the effect of carbon dioxide. The resulting model, which consists of 75 species and 514 reactions, was used to conduct rate of production and sensitivity analysis in plug flow reactor simulations, and the results were used to determine the most prominent reactions in which hydrogen sulphide, molecular hydrogen, and sulphur monoxide are involved. The resulting list of important reactions was screened and the kinetics of three of them, i.e., SO2 + S2 → S2O + SO, S2O + S2 → S3 + SO, and SO + SH → S2 + OH, was found to warrant further investigation. With the goal of improving the accurancy of our new kinetic model, we carried out a robust quantum chemistry and Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus master equation study to obtain, for the first time, the forward and reverse rate constants for those three reactions at temperatures and pressures of interest for combustion and atmospheric chemistry. This work is the first step of a kinetic study that is aimed at improving the understanding of the chemistry of the pyrolysis and oxidation of H2S, highlighting the importance of sulphur-sulphur interactions and providing a fundamental basis for future kinetic models of H2S not only in the field of combustion, but also in atmospheric chemistry.

The effect of hydrogen bonding on the reactivity of OH radicals with prenol and isoprenol: a shock tube and multi-structural torsional variational transition state theory study.

The presence of two functional groups (OH and double bond) in C5 methyl-substituted enols (i.e., isopentenols), such as 3-methyl-2-buten-1-ol (prenol) and 3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol (isoprenol), makes them excellent biofuel candidates as fuel additives. As OH radicals are abundant in both combustion and atmospheric environments, OH-initiated oxidation of these isopentenols over wide ranges of temperatures and pressures needs to be investigated. In alkenes, OH addition to the double bond is prominent at low temperatures (i.e., below ∼700 K), and H-atom abstraction dominates at higher temperatures. However, we find that the OH-initiated oxidation of prenol and isoprenol displays a larger role for OH addition at higher temperatures. In this work, the reaction kinetics of prenol and isoprenol with OH radicals was investigated over the temperature range of 900-1290 K and pressure of 1-5 atm by utilizing a shock tube and OH laser diagnostic. To rationalize these chemical systems, variational transition state theory calculations with multi-structural torsional anharmonicity and small curvature tunneling corrections were run using a potential energy surface characterized at the UCCSD(T)/jun-cc-pVQZ//M06-2X/6-311++G(2df,2pd) level of theory. A good agreement was observed between the experiment and theory, with both predicting a non-Arrhenius behavior and negligible pressure effects. OH additions to the double bond of prenol and isoprenol were found to be important, with at least 50% contribution to the total rate constants even at temperatures as high as 700 and 2000 K, respectively. This behavior was attributed to the stabilizing effect induced by hydrogen bonding between the reacting OH radical and the OH functional group of isopentenols at the saddle points. These stabilizing intermolecular interactions help mitigate the entropic effects that hinder association reactions as temperature increases, thus extending the prominent role of addition pathways to high temperatures. The site-specific rate constants were also found to be slower than their analogous reactions of OH + n-alkenes.

Early Chemistry of Nicotine Degradation in Heat-Not-Burn Smoking Devices and Conventional Cigarettes: Implications for Users and Second- and Third-Hand Smokers.

Nicotine exposure results in health risks not only for smokers but also for second- and third-hand smokers. Unraveling nicotine's degradation mechanism and the harmful chemicals that are produced under different conditions is vital to assess exposure risks. We performed a theoretical study to describe the early chemistry of nicotine degradation by investigating two important reactions that nicotine can undergo: hydrogen abstraction by hydroxyl radicals and unimolecular dissociation. The former contributes to the control of the degradation mechanism below 800 K due to a non-Arrhenius kinetics, which implies an enhancement of reactivity as temperature decreases. The latter becomes important at higher temperatures due to its larger activation energy. This change in the degradation mechanism is expected to affect the composition of vapors inhaled by smokers and room occupants. Conventional cigarettes, which operate at temperatures higher than 1000 K, are more prone to yield harmful pyridinyl radicals via nicotine dissociation, while nicotine in electronic cigarettes and vaporizers, with operating temperatures below 600 K, will be more likely degraded by hydroxyl radicals, resulting in a vapor with a different composition. Although low-temperature nicotine delivery devices have been claimed to be less harmful due to their nonburning operating conditions, the non-Arrhenius kinetics that we observed for the degradation mechanism below 873 K suggests that nicotine degradation may be more rapidly initiated as temperature is reduced, indicating that these devices may be more harmful than it is commonly assumed.

Kinetics of the benzyl + HO2 and benzoxyl + OH barrierless association reactions: fate of the benzyl hydroperoxide adduct under combustion and atmospheric conditions.

Radical-radical association reactions are challenging to address theoretically due to difficulties finding the bottleneck that variationally minimizes the reactive flux. For this purpose, the variable reaction coordinate (VRC) formulation of the variational transition state theory (VTST) represents an appropriate tool. In this work, we revisited the kinetics of two radical-radical association reactions of importance in combustion modelling and poly-aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) chemistry by performing VRC calculations: benzyl + HO2 and benzoxyl + OH, both forming the adduct benzyl hydroperoxide. Our calculated rate constants are significantly lower than those previously reported based on VTST calculations, which results from a more efficient minimization of the reactive flux through the bottleneck achieved by the VRC formulation. Both reactions show different trends in the variation of their rate constants with temperature. We observed that if the pair of single occupied molecular orbitals (SOMOs) of the associating radicals show a similar nature, i.e. similar character, and thereby a small energy gap, a highly stabilized transition state structure is formed as the result of a very efficient SOMO-SOMO overlap, which may cancel out the free energy bottleneck for the formation of the adduct and result in large rate constants with a negative temperature dependence. This is the case of the benzoxyl and OH radical pair, whose SOMOs show O2p nature with an energy gap of 20.2 kcal mol-1. On the other hand, the benzyl and HO2 radical pair shows lower rate constants with a positive temperature dependence due to the larger difference between both SOMOs (a 28.9 kcal mol-1 energy gap) as a consequence of the contribution of the multiple resonance structures of the benzyl radical. The reverse dissociation rate constants were also calculated using multi-structural torsional anharmonicity partition functions, which were not included in previous work, and the results show a much slower dissociation of benzyl hydroperoxide. Our work may help to improve kinetic models of interest in combustion and PAH formation, as well as to gain further understanding of radical-radical association reactions, which are ubiquitous in different environments.

Collision Efficiency Parameter Influence on Pressure-Dependent Rate Constant Calculations Using the SS-QRRK Theory.

The system-specific quantum Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel (SS-QRRK) theory (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 2690) is suitable to determine rate constants below the high-pressure limit. Its current implementation allows incorporating variational effects, multidimensional tunneling, and multistructural torsional anharmonicity in rate constant calculations. Master equation solvers offer a more rigorous approach to compute pressure-dependent rate constants, but several implementations available in the literature do not incorporate the aforementioned effects. However, the SS-QRRK theory coupled with a formulation of the modified strong collision model underestimates the value of unimolecular pressure-dependent rate constants in the high-temperature regime for reactions involving large molecules. This underestimation is a consequence of the definition for collision efficiency, which is part of the energy transfer model. Selection of the energy transfer model and its parameters constitutes a common issue in pressure-dependent calculations. To overcome this underestimation problem, we evaluated and implemented in a bespoke Python code two alternative definitions for the collision efficiency using the SS-QRRK theory and tested their performance by comparing the pressure-dependent rate constants with the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus/Master Equation (RRKM/ME) results. The modeled systems were the tautomerization of propen-2-ol and the decomposition of 1-propyl, 1-butyl, and 1-pentyl radicals. One of the tested definitions, which Dean et al. explicitly derived (Z. Phys. Chem. 2000, 214, 1533), corrected the underestimation of the pressure-dependent rate constants and, in addition, qualitatively reproduced the trend of RRKM/ME data. Therefore, the used SS-QRRK theory with accurate definitions for the collision efficiency can yield results that are in agreement with those from more sophisticated methodologies such as RRKM/ME.

Data Science Approach to Estimate Enthalpy of Formation of Cyclic Hydrocarbons.

In spite of increasing importance of cyclic hydrocarbons in various chemical systems, studies on the fundamental properties of these compounds, such as enthalpy of formation, are still scarce. One of the reasons for this is the fact that the estimation of the thermodynamic properties of cyclic hydrocarbon species via cost-effective computational approaches, such as group additivity (GA), has several limitations and challenges. In this study, a machine learning (ML) approach is proposed using a support vector regression (SVR) algorithm to predict the standard enthalpy of formation of cyclic hydrocarbon species. The model is developed based on a thoroughly selected dataset of accurate experimental values of 192 species collected from the literature. The molecular descriptors used as input to the SVR are calculated via alvaDesc software, which computes in total 5255 features classified into 30 categories. The developed SVR model has an average error of approximately 10 kJ/mol. In comparison, the SVR model outperforms the GA approach for complex molecules and can be therefore proposed as a novel data-driven approach to estimate enthalpy values for complex cyclic species. A sensitivity analysis is also conducted to examine the relevant features that play a role in affecting the standard enthalpy of formation of cyclic species. Our species dataset is expected to be updated and expanded as new data are available to develop a more accurate SVR model with broader applicability.

Identifying Collisions of Various Molecularities in Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

We present a method based on kinetic molecular theory that identifies reactions of various molecularities in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of bulk gases. The method allows characterization of the thermodynamic conditions at which higher than bimolecular reactions are a factor in the mechanisms of complex gas-phase chemistry. Starting with Bodenstein's definition of termolecular collisions we derive analytical expressions for the frequency of higher molecularity collisions. We have developed a relationship for the ratio of the frequencies of termolecular to bimolecular collisions in terms of the temperature, density, and collision times. To demonstrate the method, we used ReaxFF in LAMMPS to carry out MD simulations for NVT ensembles of mixtures of H2-O2 over the density range 120.2-332.7 kg m-3 and temperature range 3000-5000 K. The simulations yield ReaxFF-based predictions of the relative importance of termolecular collisions O2···H2···O2 and bimolecular collisions O2···H2 in the early chemistry of hydrogen combustion.

Machine Learning To Predict Standard Enthalpy of Formation of Hydrocarbons.

Thermodynamic properites of molecules are used widely in the study of reactive processes. Such properties are typically measured via experiments or calculated by a variety of computational chemistry methods. In this work, machine learning (ML) models for estimation of standard enthalpy of formation at 298.15 K are developed for three classes of acyclic and closed-shell hydrocarbons, viz. alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes. Initially, an extensive literature survey is performed to collect standard enthalpy data for training ML models. A commercial software (Dragon) is used to obtain a wide set of molecular descriptors by providing SMILES strings. The molecular descriptors are used as input features for the ML models. Support vector regression (SVR) and artificial neural networks are used with a two-level K-fold cross-validation (K-fold CV) workflow. The first level is for estimation of accuracy of both the ML models, and the second level is for generation of the final models. The SVR model is selected as the best model based on error estimates over 10-fold CV. The final SVR model is compared against conventional Benson's group additivity for a set of octene isomers from the database, illustrating the advantages of the proposed ML modeling approach.

Ab initio and transition state theory study of the OH + HO2 → H2O + O2(3Σg-)/O2(1Δg) reactions: yield and role of O2(1Δg) in H2O2 decomposition and in combustion of H2.

Reactions of hydroxyl (OH) and hydroperoxyl (HO2) are important for governing the reactivity of combustion systems. We performed post-CCSD(T) ab initio calculations at the W3X-L//CCSD = FC/cc-pVTZ level to explore the triplet ground-state and singlet excited-state potential energy surfaces of the OH + HO2 → H2O + O2(3Σg-)/O2(1Δg) reactions. Using microcanonical and multistructural canonical transition state theories, we calculated the rate constant for the triplet and singlet channels over the temperature range 200-2500 K, represented by k(T) = 3.08 × 1012T0.07 exp(1151/RT) + 8.00 × 1012T0.32 exp(-6896/RT) and k(T) = 2.14 × 106T1.65 exp(-2180/RT) in cm3 mol-1 s-1, respectively. The branching ratios show that the yield of singlet excited oxygen is small (<0.5% below 1000 K). To ascertain the importance of singlet oxygen channel, our new kinetic information was implemented into the kinetic model for hydrogen combustion recently updated by Konnov (Combust. Flame, 2015, 162, 3755-3772). The updated kinetic model was used to perform H2O2 thermal decomposition simulations for comparison against shock tube experiments performed by Hong et al. (Proc. Combust. Inst., 2013, 34, 565-571), and to estimate flame speeds and ignition delay times in H2 mixtures. The simulation predicted a larger amount of O2(1Δg) in H2O2 decomposition than that predicted by Konnov's original model. These differences in the O2(1Δg) yield are due to the use of a higher ab initio level and a more sophisticated methodology to compute the rate constant than those used in previous studies, thereby predicting a significantly larger rate constant. No effect was observed on the rate of the H2O2 decomposition and on the flame speeds and ignition delay times of different H2-oxidizer mixtures. However, if the oxidizer is seeded with O3, small differences appear in the flame speed. Given that O2(1Δg) is much more reactive than O2(3Σg-), we do not preclude an effect of the singlet channel of the titled reaction in other combustion systems, especially in systems where excited oxygen plays an important role.

Theoretical kinetic study of the formic acid catalyzed Criegee intermediate isomerization: multistructural anharmonicity and atmospheric implications.

We performed a theoretical study on the double hydrogen shift isomerization reaction of a six carbon atom Criegee intermediate (C6-CI), catalyzed by formic acid (HCOOH), to produce vinylhydroperoxide (VHP), C6-CI + HCOOH → VHP + HCOOH. This Criegee intermediate can serve as a surrogate for larger CIs derived from important volatile organic compounds like monoterpenes, whose reactivity is not well understood and which are difficult to handle computationally. The reactant HCOOH exerts a pronounced catalytic effect on the studied reaction by lowering the barrier height, but the kinetic enhancement is hindered by the multistructural anharmonicity. First, the rigid ring-structure adopted by the saddle point to facilitate simultaneous transfer of two atoms does not allow the formation of as many conformers as those formed by the reactant C6-CI. And second, the flexible carbon chain of C6-CI facilitates the formation of stabilizing intramolecular C-HO hydrogen bonds; this stabilizing effect is less pronounced in the saddle point structure due to its tightness and steric effects. Thus, the contribution of the reactant C6-CI conformers to the multistructural partition function is larger than that of the saddle point conformers. The resulting low multistructural anharmonicity factor partially cancels out the catalytic effect of the carboxylic acid, yielding in a moderately large rate coefficient, k(298 K) = 4.9 × 10-13 cm3 molecule-1 s-1. We show that carboxylic acids may promote the conversion of stabilized Criegee intermediates into vinylhydroperoxides in the atmosphere, which generates OH radicals and leads to secondary organic aerosols, thereby affecting the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere and ultimately the climate.

Theoretical Kinetic Study of the Unimolecular Keto-Enol Tautomerism Propen-2-ol ↔ Acetone. Pressure Effects and Implications in the Pyrolysis of tert- and 2-Butanol.

The need for renewable and cleaner sources of energy has made biofuels an interesting alternative to fossil fuels, especially in the case of butanol isomers, with its favorable blend properties and low hygroscopicity. Although C4 alcohols are prospective fuels, some key reactions governing their pyrolysis and combustion have not been adequately studied, leading to incomplete kinetic models. Enols are important intermediates in the combustion of C4 alcohols, as well as in atmospheric processes. Butanol reactions kinetics is poorly understood. Specifically, the unimolecular tautomerism of propen-2-ol ↔ acetone, which is included in butanol combustion kinetic models, is assigned rate parameters based on the tautomerism vinyl alcohol ↔ acetaldehyde as an analogy. In an attempt to update current kinetic models for tert- and 2-butanol, a theoretical kinetic study of the titled reaction was carried out by means of CCSD(T,FULL)/aug-cc-pVTZ//CCSD(T)/6-31+G(d,p) ab initio calculations, with multistructural torsional anharmonicity and variational transition state theory considerations in a wide temperature and pressure range (200-3000 K; 0.1-108 kPa). Results differ from vinyl alcohol ↔ acetaldehyde analogue reaction, which shows lower rate constant values. It was observed that decreasing pressure leads to a decrease in rate constants, describing the expected falloff behavior. Tunneling turned out to be important, especially at low temperatures. Accordingly, pyrolysis simulations in a batch reactor for tert- and 2-butanol with computed rate constants showed important differences in comparison with previous results, such as larger acetone yield and quicker propen-2-ol consumption.

Ab Initio, Transition State Theory, and Kinetic Modeling Study of the HO2-Assisted Keto-Enol Tautomerism Propen-2-ol + HO2 ⇔ Acetone + HO2 under Combustion, Atmospheric, and Interstellar Conditions.

Keto-enol tautomerisms are important reactions in gaseous and liquid systems with implications in different chemical environments, but their kinetics have not been widely investigated. These reactions can proceed via a unimolecular process or may be catalyzed by another molecule. This work presents a theoretical study of the HO2-catalyzed tautomerism that converts propen-2-ol into acetone at conditions relevant to combustion, atmospheric and interstellar chemistry. We performed CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ//M06-2X/cc-pVTZ ab initio and multistructural torsional variational transition state theory calculations to compute the forward and reverse rate constants. These rate constants have not been investigated previously, and modelers approximate the kinetics by comparison to analogue reactions. Two features of the potential energy surface of the studied tautomerism are highlighted. First, the HO2 radical exhibits a pronounced catalytic effect by inducing a double hydrogen atom transfer reaction with a much lower barrier than that of the unimolecular process. Second, a prereactive complex is formed with a strong OH···π hydrogen bond. The role of the studied reaction under combustion conditions has been assessed via chemical kinetic modeling of 2-butanol (a potential alternative fuel) oxidation. The HO2-assisted process was found to not be competitive with the unimolecular and HCOOH-assisted tautomerisms. The rate constants for the formation of the prereactive complex were calculated with the variable reaction coordinate transition state theory, and pressure effects were estimated with the system-specific quantum Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel theory; this allowed us to investigate the role of the complex by using the canonical unified statistical model. The formation and equilibration of the prereactive complex, which is also important at low pressures, enhances the reactivity by inducing a large tunneling effect that leads to a significant increase of the rate constants at cold and ultracold temperatures. These findings may help to understand and model the fate of complex organic molecules in the interstellar medium, and suggest an alternative route for the high energy barrier keto-enol tautomerism which otherwise is not kinetically favored at low temperatures.

On the role of the termolecular reactions 2O2 + H2 → 2HO2 and 2O2 + H2 → H + HO2 + O2 in formation of the first radicals in hydrogen combustion: ab initio predictions of energy barriers.

We have investigated the role of termolecular reactions in the early chemistry of hydrogen combustion. We performed molecular chemical dynamics simulations using ReaxFF in LAMMPS to identify potential initial reactions for a 1 : 4 mixture of H2 : O2 in the NVT ensemble at density 276.3 kg m-3 and ∼3000 K (∼4000 atm) and ∼4000 K (∼5000 atm), and then characterized the saddle points for those reactions using ab initio methods: CCSD(T) = FC/cc-pVTZ//MP2/6-31G, CCSD(T) = FULL/aug-cc-pVTZ//CCSD = FC/cc-pVTZ and CASSCF MP2/6-31G//MP2/6-31G. The main initial reaction is H2 + O2 → H + HO2, frequently occurring in the presence of a second O2 as a third body; that is, 2O2 + H2 → H + HO2 + O2. The second most frequent reaction is 2O2 + H2 → 2HO2. We found three saddle points on the triplet PES of these termolecular reactions: one for 2O2 + H2 → H + HO2 + O2 and two for 2O2 + H2 → 2HO2. In the latter case, one has a symmetric structure consistent with simultaneous formation of two HO2 and the other corresponds to a bimolecular reaction between O2 and H2 that is "interrupted" by a second O2 before going to completion. The classical barrier height of the symmetric saddle point for 2O2 + H2 → 2HO2 is 49.8 kcal mol-1. The barrier to H2 + O2 → H + HO2 is 58.9 kcal mol-1. The termolecular reaction will be competitive with H2 + O2 → H + HO2 only at sufficiently high pressures.

The rate constant for radiative association of HF: comparing quantum and classical dynamics.

Radiative association for the formation of hydrogen fluoride through the A(1)Π â†’ X(1)Σ(+) and X(1)Σ(+) → X(1)Σ(+) transitions is studied using quantum and classical dynamics. The total thermal rate constant is obtained for temperatures from 10 K to 20,000 K. Agreement between semiclassical and quantum approaches is observed for the A(1)Π â†’ X(1)Σ(+) rate constant above 2000 K. The agreement is explained by the fact that the corresponding cross section is free of resonances for this system. At temperatures below 2000 K we improve the agreement by implementing a simplified semiclassical expression for the rate constant, which includes a quantum corrected pair distribution. The rate coefficient for the X(1)Σ(+) → X(1)Σ(+) transition is calculated using Breit-Wigner theory and a classical formula for the resonance and direct contributions, respectively. In comparison with quantum calculations the classical formula appears to overestimate the direct contribution to the rate constant by about 12% for this transition. Below about 450 K the resonance contribution is larger than the direct, and above that temperature the opposite holds. The biggest contribution from resonances is at the lowest temperature in the study, 10 K, where it is more than four times larger than the direct. Below 1800 K the radiative association rate constant due to X(1)Σ(+) → X(1)Σ(+) transitions dominates over A(1)Π â†’ X(1)Σ(+), while above that temperature the situation is the opposite.

Quasiclassical trajectory study of the effect of antisymmetric stretch mode excitation on the O(³P) + CH4(ν3 = 1) → OH + CH3 reaction on an analytical potential energy surface. Comparison with experiment.

Motivated by a recent crossed-beam experiment on the title reaction reported by Pan and Liu [J. Chem. Phys. 140, 191101 (2014)], a detailed dynamics study was performed at three collision energies using quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) calculations based on a full-dimensional potential energy surface recently developed by our group (PES-2014). Although theory/experiment agreement is not yet quantitative, in general the theoretical results reproduce the experimental evidence: the vibrational branching ratio of OH(v = 1)/OH(v = 0) is ~0.8/0.2, excitation of the antisymmetric CH stretching mode in methane increases reactivity by factor 2.28-1.50, although an equivalent amount as translational energy is more efficient in promoting the reaction and, finally, product angular distribution shifts from backward in the CH4(ν = 0) ground-state to sideways when the antisymmetric CH stretching mode is excited. These results give confidence to the PES-2014 surface, depend on the quantization procedure used, are comparable with recent QCT calculations or improve previous theoretical studies using a different surface, and demonstrate the utility of the theory/experiment collaboration.

Bond and mode selectivity in the OH + NH2D reaction: a quasi-classical trajectory calculation.

A state-to-state dynamics study was performed to analyze the effects of vibrational excitation on the dynamics of the OH + NH2D gas-phase reaction, which are connected to issues such as bond and mode selectivity. This reaction can evolve along two channels: H-abstraction, H2O(ν) + NHD(ν); and D-abstraction, HOD(ν) + NH2(ν). Based on an analytical potential energy surface previously developed by our group, quasi-classical trajectory calculations and subsequent normal mode analysis were performed. While vibrational excitation of the NH-sym mode of NH2D slightly favours H-abstraction over the D-abstraction, vibrational excitation of the ND mode shows that there is no clear preference for the H- or D-abstraction. These results show that this reaction does not exhibit bond selectivity, suggesting a breakdown of the spectator model. For H-abstraction, vibrational excitation of the non-reactive ND mode is partially retained in the NHD product; and for D-abstraction, excitation of the non-reactive NH mode is also partially retained in the products, indicating that this reaction exhibits mode selectivity only partially. In sum, we rule out bond and mode selectivity for this reaction. All these results were interpreted on the basis of strong coupling between modes along the reaction path, a behaviour which seems to be more the general tendency than the exception in polyatomic reactions.

Role of vibrational and translational energy in the OH + NH3 reaction: a quasi-classical trajectory study.

Issues such as mode selectivity and Polanyi rules are connected to the effects of vibrational and translational energy in dynamics studies. Using the heavy-light-heavy OH(ν) + NH3(ν) gas-phase reaction, these effects were analyzed by performing quasi-classical trajectory calculations, at low and high collision energies (3.0 and 10.0 kcal mol(-1)), based on an analytical potential energy surface developed by our group. While the independent vibrational excitation of the NH3(ν) modes increases the reactivity by a factor of ∼1.1-2.8 with respect to the vibrational ground-state at both collision energies, OH(ν) stretching acts as a spectator mode. With respect to mode selectivity, we find a different behavior for both reactants. Thus, while the OH(ν) vibrational excitation is maintained in the products, indicating a certain degree of mode selectivity, the vibrational excitation of the NH3(ν) modes is not retained in the products; furthermore, the independent excitation of the N-H asymmetric and symmetric stretch modes leads to similar reaction probabilities, indicating negligible mode selectivity. For this early transition state reaction, translational energy is more effective in driving the reaction than an equivalent amount of energy in vibration, thus extending the validity of Polanyi rules to this polyatomic system. Finally, these results were interpreted on the basis of the existence of little or negligible intramolecular vibrational redistribution in the reactants before collision, while the nonconservation of the zero-point energy has a strong influence.

Ab initio based potential energy surface and kinetics study of the OH + NH3 hydrogen abstraction reaction.

A full-dimensional analytical potential energy surface (PES) for the OH + NH3 → H2O + NH2 gas-phase reaction was developed based exclusively on high-level ab initio calculations. This reaction presents a very complicated shape with wells along the reaction path. Using a wide spectrum of properties of the reactive system (equilibrium geometries, vibrational frequencies, and relative energies of the stationary points, topology of the reaction path, and points on the reaction swath) as reference, the resulting analytical PES reproduces reasonably well the input ab initio information obtained at the coupled-cluster single double triple (CCSD(T)) = FULL/aug-cc-pVTZ//CCSD(T) = FC/cc-pVTZ single point level, which represents a severe test of the new surface. As a first application, on this analytical PES we perform an extensive kinetics study using variational transition-state theory with semiclassical transmission coefficients over a wide temperature range, 200-2000 K. The forward rate constants reproduce the experimental measurements, while the reverse ones are slightly underestimated. However, the detailed analysis of the experimental equilibrium constants (from which the reverse rate constants are obtained) permits us to conclude that the experimental reverse rate constants must be re-evaluated. Another severe test of the new surface is the analysis of the kinetic isotope effects (KIEs), which were not included in the fitting procedure. The KIEs reproduce the values obtained from ab initio calculations in the common temperature range, although unfortunately no experimental information is available for comparison.

Dynamics study of the OH + NH3 hydrogen abstraction reaction using QCT calculations based on an analytical potential energy surface.

To understand the reactivity and mechanism of the OH + NH3 → H2O + NH2 gas-phase reaction, which evolves through wells in the entrance and exit channels, a detailed dynamics study was carried out using quasi-classical trajectory calculations. The calculations were performed on an analytical potential energy surface (PES) recently developed by our group, PES-2012 [Monge-Palacios et al. J. Chem. Phys. 138, 084305 (2013)]. Most of the available energy appeared as H2O product vibrational energy (54%), reproducing the only experimental evidence, while only the 21% of this energy appeared as NH2 co-product vibrational energy. Both products appeared with cold and broad rotational distributions. The excitation function (constant collision energy in the range 1.0-14.0 kcal mol(-1)) increases smoothly with energy, contrasting with the only theoretical information (reduced-dimensional quantum scattering calculations based on a simplified PES), which presented a peak at low collision energies, related to quantized states. Analysis of the individual reactive trajectories showed that different mechanisms operate depending on the collision energy. Thus, while at high energies (E(coll) ≥ 6 kcal mol(-1)) all trajectories are direct, at low energies about 20%-30% of trajectories are indirect, i.e., with the mediation of a trapping complex, mainly in the product well. Finally, the effect of the zero-point energy constraint on the dynamics properties was analyzed.

Quasi-classical trajectory study of the role of vibrational and translational energy in the Cl(2P) + NH3 reaction.

A detailed state-to-state dynamics study was performed to analyze the effects of vibrational excitation and translational energy on the dynamics of the Cl((2)P) + NH(3)(v) gas-phase reaction, effects which are connected to such issues as mode selectivity and Polanyi's rules. This reaction evolves along two deep wells in the entry and exit channels. At low and high collision energies quasi-classical trajectory calculations were performed on an analytical potential energy surface previously developed by our group, together with a simplified model surface in which the reactant well is removed to analyze the influence of this well. While at high energy the independent vibrational excitation of all NH(3)(v) modes increases the reactivity by a factor ≈1.1-2.9 with respect to the vibrational ground-state, at low energy the opposite behaviour is found (factor ≈ 0.4-0.9). However, when the simplified model surface is used at low energy the independent vibrational excitation of all NH(3)(v) modes increases the reactivity, showing that the behaviour at low energies is a direct consequence of the existence of the reactant well. Moreover, we find that this reaction exhibits negligible mode selectivity, first because the independent excitation of the N-H symmetric and asymmetric stretch modes, which lie within 200 cm(-1) of each other, leads to reactions with similar reaction probabilities, and second because the vibrational excitation of the reactive N-H stretch mode is only partially retained in the products. For this "late transition-state" reaction, we also find that vibrational energy is more effective in driving the reaction than an equivalent amount of energy in translation, consistent with an extension of Polanyi's rules. Finally, we find that the non-reactive events, Cl((2)P)+NH(3)(v) → Cl((2)P) + NH(3)(v'), lead to a great number of populated vibrational states in the NH(3)(v') product, even starting from the NH(3)(v = 0) vibrational ground state at low energies, which is unphysical in a quantum world. This result is interpreted on the basis of non-conservation of the ZPE per mode.