Experimental and Theoretical Study of the OH-Initiated Degradation of Piperidine under Simulated Atmospheric Conditions.

The OH-initiated photo-oxidation of piperidine and the photolysis of 1-nitrosopiperidine were investigated in a large atmospheric simulation chamber and in theoretical calculations based on CCSD(T*)-F12a/aug-cc-pVTZ//M062X/aug-cc-pVTZ quantum chemistry results and master equation modeling of the pivotal reaction steps. The rate coefficient for the reaction of piperidine with OH radicals was determined by the relative rate method to be kOH-piperidine = (1.19 ± 0.27) × 10-10 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 at 304 ± 2 K and 1014 ± 2 hPa. Product studies show the piperidine + OH reaction to proceed via H-abstraction from both CH2 and NH groups, resulting in the formation of the corresponding imine (2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyridine) as the major product and in the nitramine (1-nitropiperidine) and nitrosamine (1-nitrosopiperidine) as minor products. Analysis of 1-nitrosopiperidine photolysis experiments under natural sunlight conditions gave the relative rates jrel = j1-nitrosoperidine/jNO2 = 0.342 ± 0.007, k3/k4a = 0.53 ± 0.05 and k2/k4a = (7.66 ± 0.18) × 10-8 that were subsequently employed in modeling the piperidine photo-oxidation experiments, from which the initial branchings between H-abstraction from the NH and CH2 groups, kN-H/ktot = 0.38 ± 0.08 and kC2-H/ktot = 0.49 ± 0.19, were derived. All photo-oxidation experiments were accompanied by particle formation that was initiated by the acid-base reaction of piperidine with nitric acid. Primary photo-oxidation products including both 1-nitrosopiperidine and 1-nitropiperidine were detected in the particles formed. Quantum chemistry calculations on the OH initiated atmospheric photo-oxidation of piperidine suggest the branching in the initial H-abstraction routes to be ∼35% N1, ∼50% C2, ∼13% C3, and ∼2% C4. The theoretical study produced an atmospheric photo-oxidation mechanism, according to which H-abstraction from the C2 position predominantly leads to 2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyridine and H-abstraction from the C3 position results in ring opening followed by a complex autoxidation, of which the first few steps are mapped in detail. H-abstraction from the C4 position is shown to result mainly in the formation of piperidin-4-one and 2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyridin-4-ol, whereas H-abstraction from N1 under atmospheric conditions primarily leads to 2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyridine and in minor amounts of 1-nitrosopiperidine and 1-nitropiperidine. The calculated rate coefficient for the piperidine + OH reaction agrees with the experimental value within 35%, and aligning the theoretical numbers to the experimental value results in k(T) = 2.46 × 10-12 × exp(486 K/T) cm3 molecule-1 s-1 (200-400 K).

Design and implementation of a new apparatus for astrochemistry: Kinetic measurements of the CH + OCS reaction and frequency comb spectroscopy in a cold uniform supersonic flow.

We present the development of a new astrochemical research tool, HILTRAC, the Highly Instrumented Low Temperature ReAction Chamber. The instrument is based on a pulsed form of the CRESU (Cinétique de Réaction en Écoulement Supersonique Uniforme, meaning reaction kinetics in a uniform supersonic flow) apparatus, with the aim of collecting kinetics and spectroscopic information on gas phase chemical reactions important in interstellar space or planetary atmospheres. We discuss the apparatus design and its flexibility, the implementation of pulsed laser photolysis followed by laser induced fluorescence, and the first implementation of direct infrared frequency comb spectroscopy (DFCS) coupled to the uniform supersonic flow. Achievable flow temperatures range from 32(3) to 111(9) K, characterizing a total of five Laval nozzles for use with N2 and Ar buffer gases by impact pressure measurements. These results were further validated using LIF and direct frequency comb spectroscopy measurements of the CH radical and OCS, respectively. Spectroscopic constants and linelists for OCS are reported for the 1001 band near 2890-2940 cm-1 for both OC32S and OC34S, measured using DFCS. Additional peaks in the spectrum are tentatively assigned to the OCS-Ar complex. The first reaction rate coefficients for the CH + OCS reaction measured between 32(3) and 58(5) K are reported. The reaction rate coefficient at 32(3) K was measured to be 3.9(4) × 10-10 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 and the reaction was found to exhibit no observable temperature dependence over this low temperature range.

Experimental, theoretical, and astrochemical modelling investigation of the gas-phase reaction between the amidogen radical (NH2) and acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) at low temperatures.

The first experimental study of the low-temperature kinetics of the gas-phase reaction of NH2 with acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) has been performed. Experiments were carried out using laser-flash photolysis and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy to create and monitor the temporal decay of NH2 in the presence of CH3CHO. Low temperatures relevant to the interstellar medium were achieved using a pulsed Laval nozzle expansion. Rate coefficients were measured over the temperature and pressure range of 29-107 K and 1.4-28.2 × 1016 molecules per cm3, with the reaction exhibiting a negative temperature dependence and a positive pressure dependence. The yield of CH3CO from the reaction has also been determined at 67.1 and 35.0 K, by observing OH produced from the reaction of CH3CO with added O2. Ab initio calculations of the potential energy surface (PES) were combined with Rice-Rampsberger-Kessel-Marcus (RRKM) calculations to predict rate coefficients and branching ratios over a broad range of temperatures and pressures. The calculated rate coefficients were shown to be sensitive to the calculated density of states of the stationary points, which in turn are sensitive to the inclusion of hindered rotor potentials for several of the vibrational frequencies. The experimentally determined rate coefficients and yields have been used to fit the calculated PES, from which low-pressure limiting rate coefficients relevant to the ISM were determined. These have been included in a single-point dark cloud astrochemical model, in which the reaction is shown to be a potential source of gas-phase CH3CO radicals under dark cloud conditions.

Validating HONO as an Intermediate Tracer of the External Cycling of Reactive Nitrogen in the Background Atmosphere.

In the urban atmosphere, nitrogen oxide (NOx═NO + NO2)-related reactions dominate the formation of nitrous acid (HONO). Here, we validated an external cycling route of HONO and NOx, i.e., formation of HONO resulting from precursors other than NOx, in the background atmosphere. A chemical budget closure experiment of HONO and NOx was conducted at a background site on the Tibetan Plateau and provided direct evidence of the external cycling. An external daytime HONO source of 100 pptv h-1 was determined. Both soil emissions and photolysis of nitrate on ambient surfaces constituted likely candidate mechanisms characterizing this external source. The external source dominated the chemical production of NOx with HONO as an intermediate tracer. The OH production was doubled as a result of the external cycling. A high HONO/NOx ratio (0.31 ± 0.06) during the daytime was deduced as a sufficient condition for the external cycling. Literature review suggested the prevalence of high HONO/NOx ratios in various background environments, e.g., polar regions, pristine mountains, and forests. Our analysis validates the prevalence of external cycling in general background atmosphere and highlights the promotional role of external cycling regarding the atmospheric oxidative capacity.

Experimental and theoretical study of the low-temperature kinetics of the reaction of CN with CH2O and implications for interstellar environments.

Rate coefficients for the reaction of CN with CH2O were measured for the first time below room temperature in the range 32-103 K using a pulsed Laval nozzle apparatus together with the Pulsed Laser Photolysis-Laser-Induced Fluorescence technique. The rate coefficients exhibited a strong negative temperature dependence, reaching (4.62 ± 0.84) × 10-11 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 at 32 K, and no pressure dependence was observed at 70 K. The potential energy surface (PES) of the CN + CH2O reaction was calculated at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ//M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory, with the lowest energy channel to reaction characterized by the formation of a weakly-bound van der Waals complex, bound by 13.3 kJ mol-1, prior to two transition states with energies of -0.62 and 3.97 kJ mol-1, leading to the products HCN + HCO or HNC + HCO, respectively. For the formation of formyl cyanide, HCOCN, a large activation barrier of 32.9 kJ mol-1 was calculated. Reaction rate theory calculations were performed with the MESMER (Master Equation Solver for Multi Energy well Reactions) package on this PES to calculate rate coefficients. While this ab initio description provided good agreement with the low-temperature rate coefficients, it was not capable of describing the high-temperature experimental rate coefficients from the literature. However, increasing the energies and imaginary frequencies of both transition states allowed MESMER simulations of the rate coefficients to be in good agreement with data spanning 32-769 K. The mechanism for the reaction is the formation of a weakly-bound complex followed by quantum mechanical tunnelling through the small barrier to form HCN + HCO products. MESMER calculations showed that channel generating HNC is not important. MESMER simulated the rate coefficients from 4-1000 K which were used to recommend best-fit modified Arrhenius expressions for use in astrochemical modelling. The UMIST Rate12 (UDfa) model yielded no significant changes in the abundances of HCN, HNC, and HCO for a variety of environments upon inclusion of rate coefficients reported here. The main implication from this study is that the title reaction is not a primary formation route to the interstellar molecule formyl cyanide, HCOCN, as currently implemented in the KIDA astrochemical model.

Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Reaction of NH2 with NO at Very Low Temperatures.

The first experimental study of the low-temperature kinetics of the gas-phase reaction between NH2 and NO has been performed. A pulsed laser photolysis-laser-induced fluorescence technique was used to create and monitor the temporal decay of NH2 in the presence of NO. Measurements were carried out over the temperature range of 24-106 K, with the low temperatures achieved using a pulsed Laval nozzle expansion. The negative temperature dependence of the reaction rate coefficient observed at higher temperatures in the literature continues at these lower temperatures, with the rate coefficient reaching 3.5 × 10-10 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 at T = 26 K. Ab initio calculations of the potential energy surface were combined with rate theory calculations using the MESMER software package in order to calculate and predict rate coefficients and branching ratios over a wide range of temperatures, which are largely consistent with experimentally determined literature values. These theoretical calculations indicate that at the low temperatures investigated for this reaction, only one product channel producing N2 + H2O is important. The rate coefficients determined in this study were used in a gas-phase astrochemical model. Models were run over a range of physical conditions appropriate for cold to warm molecular clouds (10 to 30 K; 104 to 106 cm-3), resulting in only minor changes (<1%) to the abundances of NH2 and NO at steady state. Hence, despite the observed increase in the rate at low temperatures, this mechanism is not a dominant loss mechanism for either NH2 or NO under dark cloud conditions.

Ab Initio and Statistical Rate Theory Exploration of the CH (X2Π) + OCS Gas-Phase Reaction.

The first theoretical results regarding the gas-phase reaction mechanism and kinetics of the CH (X2Π) + OCS reaction are presented here. This reaction has a proposed importance in the removal of OCS in regions of the interstellar medium (ISM) and has the potential to form the recently observed HCS/HSC isomers, with both constitutional isomers having recently been observed in the L483 molecular cloud in a 40:1 ratio. Statistical rate theory simulations were performed on stationary points along the reaction potential energy surface (PES) obtained from ab initio calculations at the RO-CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pV(Q+d)Z//M06-2X-D3/aug-cc-pV(Q+d)Z level of theory over the temperature and total density range of 150-3000 K and 1011-1024 cm-3, respectively, using a Master Equation analysis. Exploration of the reaction potential energy surface revealed that all three pathways identified to create CS + HCO products required surmounting barriers of 16.5 kJ mol-1 or larger when CH approached the oxygen side of OCS, rendering this product formation negligible below 1000 K, and certainly under low-temperature ISM conditions. In contrast, when CH approaches the sulfur side of OCS, only submerged barriers are found along the reaction potential energy surface to create HCCO + S or CO + HCS, both of which are formed via a strongly bound OCC(H)S intermediate (-358.9 kJ mol-1). Conversion from HCS to HSC is possible via a barrier of 77.8 kJ mol-1, which is still -34.1 kJ mol-1 below the CH + OCS entrance channel. No direct route from CH + OCS to H + CO + CS was found from our ab initio calculations. Rate theory simulations suggest that the reaction has a strong negative temperature dependence, in accordance with the barrierless addition of CH to the sulfur side of OCS. Product branching fractions were also determined from MESMER simulations over the same temperature and total density range. The product branching fraction of CO + HCS reduces from 79% at 150 K to 0.0% at 800 K, while that of HCS dissociation to H + CS + CO increases from 22% at 150 K to 100% at 800 K. The finding of CO + HCS as the major product at the low temperatures relevant to the ISM, instead of H + CS + CO, is in opposition to the current supposition used in the KIDA database and should be adapted in astrochemical models as another source of the HCS isomer.

New Approach to the Detection of Short-Lived Radical Intermediates.

We report a new general method for trapping short-lived radicals, based on a homolytic substitution reaction SH2'. This departure from conventional radical trapping by addition or radical-radical cross-coupling results in high sensitivity, detailed structural information, and general applicability of the new approach. The radical traps in this method are terminal alkenes possessing a nitroxide leaving group (e.g., allyl-TEMPO derivatives). The trapping process thus yields stable products which can be stored and subsequently analyzed by mass spectrometry (MS) supported by well-established techniques such as isotope exchange, tandem MS, and high-performance liquid chromatography-MS. The new method was applied to a range of model radical reactions in both liquid and gas phases including a photoredox-catalyzed thiol-ene reaction and alkene ozonolysis. An unprecedented range of radical intermediates was observed in complex reaction mixtures, offering new mechanistic insights. Gas-phase radicals can be detected at concentrations relevant to atmospheric chemistry.

Unimolecular Kinetics of Stabilized CH3CHOO Criegee Intermediates: syn-CH3CHOO Decomposition and anti-CH3CHOO Isomerization.

The kinetics of the unimolecular decomposition of the stabilized Criegee intermediate syn-CH3CHOO has been investigated at temperatures between 297 and 331 K and pressures between 12 and 300 Torr using laser flash photolysis of CH3CHI2/O2/N2 gas mixtures coupled with time-resolved broadband UV absorption spectroscopy. Fits to experimental results using the Master Equation Solver for Multi-Energy well Reactions (MESMER) indicate that the barrier height to decomposition is 67.2 ± 1.3 kJ mol-1 and that there is a strong tunneling component to the decomposition reaction under atmospheric conditions. At 298 K and 760 Torr, MESMER simulations indicate a rate coefficient of 150-81+176 s-1 when tunneling effects are included but only 5-2+3 s-1 when tunneling is not considered in the model. MESMER simulations were also performed for the unimolecular isomerization of the stabilized Criegee intermediate anti-CH3CHOO to methyldioxirane, indicating a rate coefficient of 54-21+34 s-1 at 298 K and 760 Torr, which is not impacted by tunneling effects. Expressions to describe the unimolecular kinetics of syn- and anti-CH3CHOO are provided for use in atmospheric models, and atmospheric implications are discussed.

Kinetics and Product Branching Ratio Study of the CH3O2 Self-Reaction in the Highly Instrumented Reactor for Atmospheric Chemistry.

The fluorescence assay by gas expansion (FAGE) method for the measurement of the methyl peroxy radical (CH3O2) using the conversion of CH3O2 into methoxy radicals (CH3O) by excess NO, followed by the detection of CH3O, has been used to study the kinetics of the self-reaction of CH3O2. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been employed to determine the products methanol and formaldehyde of the self-reaction. The kinetics and product studies were performed in the Highly Instrumented Reactor for Atmospheric Chemistry (HIRAC) in the temperature range 268-344 K at 1000 mbar of air. The product measurements were used to determine the branching ratio of the reaction channel forming methoxy radicals, rCH3O. A value of 0.34 ± 0.05 (errors at 2σ level) was determined for rCH3O at 295 K. The temperature dependence of rCH3O can be parametrized as rCH3O = 1/{1 + [exp(600 ± 85)/T]/(3.9 ± 1.1)}. An overall rate coefficient of the self-reaction of (2.0 ± 0.9) × 10-13 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 at 295 K was obtained by the kinetic analysis of the observed second-order decays of CH3O2. The temperature dependence of the overall rate coefficient can be characterized by koverall = (9.1 ± 5.3) × 10-14 × exp((252 ± 174)/T) cm3 molecule-1 s-1. The found values of koverall in the range 268-344 K are ∼40% lower than the values calculated using the recommendations of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and IUPAC, which are based on the previous studies, all of them utilizing time-resolved UV-absorption spectroscopy to monitor CH3O2. A modeling study using a complex chemical mechanism to describe the reaction system showed that unaccounted secondary chemistry involving Cl species increased the values of koverall in the previous studies using flash photolysis to initiate the chemistry. The overestimation of the koverall values by the kinetic studies using molecular modulation to generate CH3O2 can be rationalized by a combination of underestimated optical absorbance of CH3O2 and unaccounted CH3O2 losses to the walls of the reaction cells employed.

Insights into air pollution chemistry and sulphate formation from nitrous acid (HONO) measurements during haze events in Beijing.

Wintertime urban air pollution in many global megacities is characterised by episodic rapid increase in particulate matter concentrations associated with elevated relative humidity - so-called haze episodes, which have become characteristic of cities such as Beijing. Atmospheric chemistry within haze combines gas- and condensed-phase chemical processes, leading to the growth in secondary species such as sulphate aerosols. Here, we integrate observations of reactive gas phase species (HONO, OH, NOx) and time-resolved aerosol composition, to explore observational constraints on the mechanisms responsible for sulphate growth during the onset of haze events. We show that HONO abundance is dominated by established fast gas-phase photochemistry, but the consideration of the additional formation potentially associated with condensed-phase oxidation of S species by aqueous NO2 leading to NO2- production and hence HONO release, improves agreement between observed and calculated gas-phase HONO levels. This conclusion is highly dependent upon aerosol pH, ionic strength and particularly the parameterisation employed for S(iv) oxidation kinetics, for which an upper limit is derived.

Using highly time-resolved online mass spectrometry to examine biogenic and anthropogenic contributions to organic aerosol in Beijing.

Organic aerosols, a major constituent of fine particulate mass in megacities, can be directly emitted or formed from secondary processing of biogenic and anthropogenic volatile organic compound emissions. The complexity of volatile organic compound emission sources, speciation and oxidation pathways leads to uncertainties in the key sources and chemistry leading to formation of organic aerosol in urban areas. Historically, online measurements of organic aerosol composition have been unable to resolve specific markers of volatile organic compound oxidation, while offline analysis of markers focus on a small proportion of organic aerosol and lack the time resolution to carry out detailed statistical analysis required to study the dynamic changes in aerosol sources and chemistry. Here we use data collected as part of the joint UK-China Air Pollution and Human Health (APHH-Beijing) collaboration during a field campaign in urban Beijing in the summer of 2017 alongside laboratory measurements of secondary organic aerosol from oxidation of key aromatic precursors (1,3,5-trimethyl benzene, 1,2,4-trimethyl benzene, propyl benzene, isopropyl benzene and 1-methyl naphthalene) to study the anthropogenic and biogenic contributions to organic aerosol. For the first time in Beijing, this study applies positive matrix factorisation to online measurements of organic aerosol composition from a time-of-flight iodide chemical ionisation mass spectrometer fitted with a filter inlet for gases and aerosols (FIGAERO-ToF-I-CIMS). This approach identifies the real-time variations in sources and oxidation processes influencing aerosol composition at a near-molecular level. We identify eight factors with distinct temporal variability, highlighting episodic differences in OA composition attributed to regional influences and in situ formation. These have average carbon numbers ranging from C5-C9 and can be associated with oxidation of anthropogenic aromatic hydrocarbons alongside biogenic emissions of isoprene, α-pinene and sesquiterpenes.

Key Role of NO3 Radicals in the Production of Isoprene Nitrates and Nitrooxyorganosulfates in Beijing.

The formation of isoprene nitrates (IsN) can lead to significant secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production and they can act as reservoirs of atmospheric nitrogen oxides. In this work, we estimate the rate of production of IsN from the reactions of isoprene with OH and NO3 radicals during the summertime in Beijing. While OH dominates the loss of isoprene during the day, NO3 plays an increasingly important role in the production of IsN from the early afternoon onwards. Unusually low NO concentrations during the afternoon resulted in NO3 mixing ratios of ca. 2 pptv at approximately 15:00, which we estimate to account for around a third of the total IsN production in the gas phase. Heterogeneous uptake of IsN produces nitrooxyorganosulfates (NOS). Two mono-nitrated NOS were correlated with particulate sulfate concentrations and appear to be formed from sequential NO3 and OH oxidation. Di- and tri-nitrated isoprene-related NOS, formed from multiple NO3 oxidation steps, peaked during the night. This work highlights that NO3 chemistry can play a key role in driving biogenic-anthropogenic interactive chemistry in Beijing with respect to the formation of IsN during both the day and night.

Kinetics of the gas phase reaction of the Criegee intermediate CH2OO with SO2 as a function of temperature.

The kinetics of the gas phase reaction of the Criegee intermediate CH2OO with SO2 have been studied as a function of temperature in the range 223-344 K at 85 Torr using flash photolysis of CH2I2/O2/SO2/N2 mixtures at 248 nm coupled to time-resolved broadband UV absorption spectroscopy. Measurements were performed under pseudo-first-order conditions with respect to SO2, revealing a negative temperature dependence. Analysis of experimental results using the Master Equation Solver for Multi-Energy well Reactions (MESMER) indicates that the observed temperature dependence, combined with the reported lack of a pressure dependence in the range 1.5-760 Torr, can be described by a reaction mechanism consisting of the formation of a pre-reaction complex leading to a cyclic secondary ozonide which subsequently decomposes to produce HCHO + SO3. The temperature dependence can be characterised by kCH2OO+SO2 = (3.72 ± 0.13) × 10-11 (T/298)(-2.05±0.38) cm3 molecule-1 s-1. The observed negative temperature dependence for the title reaction in conjunction with the decrease in water dimer (the main competitor for the Criegee intermediate) concentration at lower temperatures means that Criegee intermediate chemistry can play an enhanced role in SO2 oxidation in the atmosphere at lower temperatures.

Experimental and Theoretical Study of the OH-Initiated Degradation of Piperazine under Simulated Atmospheric Conditions.

The OH-initiated photo-oxidation of piperazine and 1-nitropiperazine as well as the photolysis of 1-nitrosopiperazine were investigated in a large atmospheric simulation chamber. The rate coefficient for the reaction of piperazine with OH radicals was determined by the relative rate method to be kOH-piperazine = (2.8 ± 0.6) × 10-10 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 at 307 ± 2 K and 1014 ± 2 hPa. Product studies showed the piperazine + OH reaction to proceed both via C-H and N-H abstraction, resulting in the formation of 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyrazine as the major product and in 1-nitropiperazine and 1-nitrosopiperazine as minor products. The branching in the piperazinyl radical reactions with NO, NO2, and O2 was obtained from 1-nitrosopiperazine photolysis experiments and employed analyses of the 1-nitropiperazine and 1-nitrosopiperazine temporal profiles observed during piperazine photo-oxidation. The derived initial branching between N-H and C-H abstraction by OH radicals, kN-H/(kN-H + kC-H), was 0.18 ± 0.04. All experiments were accompanied by substantial aerosol formation that was initiated by the reaction of piperazine with nitric acid. Both primary and secondary photo-oxidation products including 1-nitropiperazine and 1,4-dinitropiperazine were detected in the aerosol particles formed. Corroborating atmospheric photo-oxidation schemes for piperazine and 1-nitropiperazine were derived from M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ quantum chemistry calculations and master equation modeling of the pivotal reaction steps. The atmospheric chemistry of piperazine is evaluated, and a validated chemical mechanism for implementation in dispersion models is presented.

Kinetics of the Gas Phase Reactions of the Criegee Intermediate CH2OO with O3 and IO.

The kinetics of the gas phase reactions of the Criegee intermediate CH2OO with O3 and IO have been studied at 296 K and 300 Torr through simultaneous measurements of CH2OO, the CH2OO precursor (CH2I2), O3, and IO using flash photolysis of CH2I2/O2/O3/N2 mixtures at 248 nm coupled to time-resolved broadband UV absorption spectroscopy. Experiments were performed under pseudo-first-order conditions with respect to O3, with the rate coefficients for reactions of CH2OO with O3 and IO obtained by fitting to the observed decays of CH2OO using a model constrained to the measured concentrations of IO. Fits were performed globally, with the ratio between the initial concentration of O3 and the average concentration of IO varying in the range 30-700, and gave kCH2OO+O3 = (3.6 ± 0.8) × 10-13 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 and kCH2OO+IO = (7.6 ± 1.4) × 10-11 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 (where the errors are at the 2σ level). The magnitude of kCH2OO+O3 has a significant effect on the steady state concentration of CH2OO in chamber studies. Atmospheric implications of the results are discussed.

Rapid Acceleration of Hydrogen Atom Abstraction Reactions of OH at Very Low Temperatures through Weakly Bound Complexes and Tunneling.

A generally accepted principle of chemical kinetics is that a reaction will be very slow at low temperatures if there is an activation barrier on the potential energy surface to form products. However, this Account shows that the reverse is true for gas-phase hydrogen abstraction reactions of the hydroxyl radical, OH, with organic molecules with which it can form a weakly bound (5-30 kJ mol-1) hydrogen-bonded complex. For hydrogen atom abstraction reactions of OH with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) containing alcohol, ether, carbonyl, and ester functional groups, the reaction accelerates rapidly at very low temperatures, with rate coefficients, k, that can be up to a 1000 times faster than those at room temperature, despite the barrier to products. The OH radical is a crucial intermediate in Earth's atmosphere, combustion processes, and the chemistry of the interstellar medium, where temperatures can reach as low as 10 K, so this behavior has very important implications for gas-phase chemistry in space. The key point is that at low temperatures the lifetime of the OH-VOC complex against re-dissociation back to reactants becomes much longer, and hence the probability of quantum mechanical tunneling under the reaction barrier to form products becomes much higher. These observations were made possible by using Laval nozzles to generate uniform supersonic flows at extremely low temperatures so that condensation of the reagents at reactor walls is avoided. In this Account, the use of laser flash-photolysis combined with laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy within Laval flows is described to study the unusual kinetics of this type of reaction at temperatures down to 21 K and demonstrate the rapid upturn in the rate coefficient. For the reaction of OH with CH3OH, further evidence for the precomplex and tunneling mechanism comes from observation of the CH3O reaction product at very low temperatures, despite it being formed over the higher barrier to reaction. The experimental observations are supported by theoretical calculations using the MESMER master equation package to calculate k( T) and product yields as a function of temperature and which make use of potential energy surfaces determined using ab initio methods. The CH3O product is formed over a narrower barrier with a larger imaginary frequency and is calculated to be the sole product at very low temperatures. The kinetics of the OH reaction with CH3OH were measured to be independent of pressure, consistent with a tunneling mechanism rather than any collisional stabilization of the prereactive complex. In this Account, we collate available kinetic data and show that this newly discovered mechanism for H atom transfer reactions appears to be generally applicable for reactions of OH with organic molecules containing oxygenated functional groups, which have been observed in space by radio-astronomy. Rather than being ignored for a range of interstellar environments, these OH reactions are now being included in chemical networks in space and have been shown to significantly influence the abundance of OH, the organic molecules themselves, and reaction products and provide novel routes to forming even more complex functional groups, for example, precursors to prebiotic molecules.