Bimolecular Reaction of Methyl-Ethyl-Substituted Criegee Intermediate with SO2.

Methyl-ethyl-substituted Criegee intermediate (MECI) is a four-carbon carbonyl oxide that is formed in the ozonolysis of some asymmetric alkenes. MECI is structurally similar to the isoprene-derived methyl vinyl ketone oxide (MVK-oxide) but lacks resonance stabilization, making it a promising candidate to help us unravel the effects of size, structure, and resonance stabilization that influence the reactivity of atmospherically important, highly functionalized Criegee intermediates. We present experimental and theoretical results from the first bimolecular study of MECI in its reaction with SO2, a reaction that shows significant sensitivity to the Criegee intermediate structure. Using multiplexed photoionization mass spectrometry, we obtain a rate coefficient of (1.3 ± 0.3) × 10-10 cm3 s-1 (95% confidence limits, 298 K, 10 Torr) and demonstrate the formation of SO3 under our experimental conditions. Through high-level theory, we explore the effect of Criegee intermediate structure on the minimum energy pathways for their reactions with SO2 and obtain modified Arrhenius fits to our predictions for the reaction of both syn and anti conformers of MECI with SO2 (ksyn = 4.42 × 1011 T-7.80exp(-1401/T) cm3 s-1 and kanti = 1.26 × 1011 T-7.55exp(-1397/T) cm3 s-1). Our experimental and theoretical rate coefficients (which are in reasonable agreement at 298 K) show that the reaction of MECI with SO2 is significantly faster than MVK-oxide + SO2, demonstrating the substantial effect of resonance stabilization on Criegee intermediate reactivity.

OH Roaming and Beyond in the Unimolecular Decay of the Methyl-Ethyl-Substituted Criegee Intermediate: Observations and Predictions.

Alkene ozonolysis generates short-lived Criegee intermediates that are a significant source of hydroxyl (OH) radicals. This study demonstrates that roaming of the separating OH radicals can yield alternate hydroxycarbonyl products, thereby reducing the OH yield. Specifically, hydroxybutanone has been detected as a stable product arising from roaming in the unimolecular decay of the methyl-ethyl-substituted Criegee intermediate (MECI) under thermal flow cell conditions. The dynamical features of this novel multistage dissociation plus a roaming unimolecular decay process have also been examined with ab initio kinetics calculations. Experimentally, hydroxybutanone isomers are distinguished from the isomeric MECI by their higher ionization threshold and distinctive photoionization spectra. Moreover, the exponential rise of the hydroxybutanone kinetic time profile matches that for the unimolecular decay of MECI. A weaker methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) photoionization signal is also attributed to OH roaming. Complementary multireference electronic structure calculations have been utilized to map the unimolecular decay pathways for MECI, starting with 1,4 H atom transfer from a methyl or methylene group to the terminal oxygen, followed by roaming of the separating OH and butanonyl radicals in the long-range region of the potential. Roaming via reorientation and the addition of OH to the vinyl group of butanonyl is shown to yield hydroxybutanone, and subsequent C-O elongation and H-transfer can lead to MVK. A comprehensive theoretical kinetic analysis has been conducted to evaluate rate constants and branching yields (ca. 10-11%) for thermal unimolecular decay of MECI to conventional and roaming products under laboratory and atmospheric conditions, consistent with the estimated experimental yield (ca. 7%).

Conformer-Dependent Chemistry: Experimental Product Branching of the Vinyl Alcohol + OH + O2 Reaction.

The concentration of formic acid in Earth's troposphere is underestimated by detailed chemical models compared to field observations. Phototautomerization of acetaldehyde to its less stable tautomer vinyl alcohol, followed by the OH-initiated oxidation of vinyl alcohol, has been proposed as a missing source of formic acid that improves the agreement between models and field measurements. Theoretical investigations of the OH + vinyl alcohol reaction in excess O2 conclude that OH addition to the α carbon of vinyl alcohol produces formaldehyde + formic acid + OH, whereas OH addition to the ß site leads to glycoaldehyde + HO2. Furthermore, these studies predict that the conformeric structure of vinyl alcohol controls the reaction pathway, with the anti-conformer of vinyl alcohol promoting α OH addition, whereas the syn-conformer promotes ß addition. However, the two theoretical studies reach different conclusions regarding which set of products dominate. We studied this reaction using time-resolved multiplexed photoionization mass spectrometry to quantify the product branching fractions. Our results, supported by a detailed kinetic model, conclude that the glycoaldehyde product channel (arising mostly from syn-vinyl alcohol) dominates over formic acid production with a 3.6:1.0 branching ratio. This result supports the conclusion of Lei et al. that conformer-dependent hydrogen bonding at the transition state for OH-addition controls the reaction outcome. As a result, tropospheric oxidation of vinyl alcohol creates less formic acid than recently thought, increasing again the discrepancy between models and field observations of Earth's formic acid budget.

High-Resolution Double Velocity Map Imaging Photoelectron Photoion Coincidence Spectrometer for Gas-Phase Reaction Kinetics.

We present a new photoelectron photoion coincidence (PEPICO) spectrometer that combines high mass resolution of cations with independently adjustable velocity map imaging of both cations and electrons. We photoionize atoms and molecules using fixed-frequency vacuum ultraviolet radiation. Mass-resolved photoelectron spectra associated with each cation's mass-to-charge ratio can be obtained by inversion of the photoelectron image. The mass-resolved photoelectron spectra enable kinetic time-resolved probing of chemical reactions with isomeric resolution using fixed-frequency radiation sources amenable to small laboratory settings. The instrument accommodates a variety of sample delivery sources to explore a broad range of physical chemistry. To demonstrate the time-resolved capabilities of the instrument, we study the 193 nm photodissociation of SO2 via the C̃(1B2) ← X̃(1A1) transition. In addition to the well-documented O(3Pj) + SO(3Σ-) channel, we observe direct evidence for a small yield of S(3Pj) + O2(3Σg-) as a primary photodissociation product channel, which may impact sulfur mass-independent fractionation chemistry.

Absolute Photoionization Cross Section of the Simplest Enol, Vinyl Alcohol.

The absolute photoionization cross section of vinyl alcohol was determined by multiplexed photoionization mass spectrometry of the Norrish type II photodissociation of butanal at 308 nm. The measured cross sections at 10.005 and 10.205 eV are 7.5 ± 1.9 and 8.1 ± 1.9 MB, respectively. A higher signal-to-noise ratio photoionization spectrum of vinyl alcohol was recorded via the pyrolysis of 2-chloroethanol and scaled to the absolute cross sections measured using the Norrish type II method. From a comparison of our spectrum with previously reported photoelectron spectra we conclude that vinyl alcohol is mainly ionized by direct ionization in the energy range of 9-9.6 eV, whereas autoionization is responsible for the steady rise in the photoionization spectrum above the end of the Franck-Condon envelope at 9.9 eV.

Kinetic intermediates of holo- and apo-myoglobin studied using HDX-TIMS-MS and molecular dynamic simulations.

In the present work, the kinetic intermediates of holo- and apo-myoglobin were studied by correlating the ion-neutral collision cross section and time resolved H/D back exchange rate simultaneously in a trapped ion mobility spectrometer coupled to a mass spectrometer (HDX-TIMS-MS). The high mobility resolution of the TIMS cell permitted the observation of multiple IMS bands and complementary molecular dynamics simulations resulted in the assignment of candidate structures for each experimental condition studied (e.g., holo [M + 8H](+8)-[M + 9H](+9) and apo [M + 9H](+9)-[M + 19H](+19)). Inspection of the kinetic intermediates suggests that the tertiary structure of apomyoglobin unfolds quickly upon the loss of the Fe protoporphyrin IX that stabilizes the interactions between the A, G, and H helices. In the absence of the porphyrin heme, the apomyoglobin unfolds to Xn kinetic intermediates that vary in the extent of unfolding as a result of the observed charge state.