Benchmark ab initio characterization of the multi-channel Cl + CH3X [X = F, Cl, Br, I] reactive potential energy surfaces

We determine benchmark geometries and relative energies for the stationary points of the Cl + CH3X [X = F, Cl, Br, I] reactions. We consider four possible reaction pathways: hydrogen abstraction, hydrogen substitution, halogen abstraction, and halogen substitution, where the substitution processes can proceed via either Walden inversion or front-side attack. We perform geometry optimizations and obtain harmonic vibrational frequencies at the explicitly-correlated UCCSD(T)-F12b/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory, followed by UCCSD(T)-F12b/aug-cc-pVQZ single-point computations to make finite-basis-set error negligible. To reach chemical (<1 kcal mol-1), or even subchemical (<0.5 kcal mol-1) accuracy, we include core-correlation, scalar relativistic, post-(T), spin-orbit-splitting and zero-point-energy contributions, as well, in the relative energies of all the stationary points. Our benchmark 0 K reaction enthalpies are compared to available experimental results and show good agreement. The stationary-point structures and energetics are interpreted in terms of Hammond's postulate and used to make predictions related to the dynamical behavior of these reactive systems.

ManyHF-based full-dimensional potential energy surface development and quasi-classical dynamics for the Cl + CH3NH2 reaction

A full-dimensional spin-orbit (SO)-corrected potential energy surface (PES) is developed for the Cl + CH3NH2 multi-channel system. Using the new PES, a comprehensive reaction dynamics investigation is performed for the most reactive hydrogen-abstraction reactions forming HCl + CH2NH2/CH3NH. Hartree-Fock (HF) convergence problems in the reactant region are handled by the ManyHF method, which finds the lowest-energy HF solution considering several different initial guess orbitals. The PES development is carried out with the Robosurfer program package, which iteratively improves the surface. Energy points are computed at the ManyHF-UCCSD(T)-F12a/cc-pVDZ-F12 level of theory combined with basis set (ManyHF-RMP2-F12/cc-pVTZ-F12 - ManyHF-RMP2-F12/cc-pVDZ-F12) and SO (MRCI+Q/aug-cc-pwCVDZ) corrections. Quasi-classical trajectory simulations show that the CH3-side hydrogen abstraction occurs more frequently in contrast to the NH2-side reaction. In both cases, the integral cross sections decrease with increasing collision energy (Ecoll). A reaction mechanism shifting from indirect to direct stripping can be observed from the opacity functions, scattering angle, and translation energy distributions as Ecoll increases. Initial attack angle distributions reveal that chlorine prefers to abstract hydrogen from the approached functional group. The collision-energy dependence of the product energy distributions shows that the initial translational energy mainly transfers to product recoil. The HCl vibrational and rotational energy values are comparable and nearly independent of collision energy, while the CH2NH2 and CH3NH co-products' vibrational energy values are higher than the rotational energy values with more significant Ecoll dependence. The HCl(v = 0) rotational distributions are compared with experiment, setting the direction for future investigations.

Benchmark Ab Initio Characterization of the Abstraction and Substitution Pathways of the Cl + CH3CN Reaction

We investigate the reaction pathways of the Cl + CH₃CN system: hydrogen abstraction, methyl substitution, hydrogen substitution, and cyanide substitution, leading to HCl + CH₂CN, ClCN/CNCl + CH₃, ClCH₂CN + H, and CH₃Cl + CN, respectively. Hydrogen abstraction is exothermic and has a low barrier, whereas the other channels are endothermic with high barriers. The latter two can proceed via a Walden inversion or front-side attack mechanism, and the front-side attack barriers are always higher. The C-side methyl substitution has a lower barrier and also a lower endothermicity than the N-side reaction. The computations utilize an accurate composite ab initio approach and the explicitly correlated CCSD(T)-F12b method. The benchmark classical and vibrationally adiabatic energies of the stationary points are determined with the most accurate CCSD(T)-F12b/aug-cc-pVQZ energies adding further contributions of the post-(T) and core correlation, scalar relativistic effects, spin–orbit coupling, and zero-point energy corrections. These contributions are found to be non-negligible to reach subchemical accuracy.

Vibrational mode-specific dynamics of the F(2P3/2) + C2H6 → HF + C2H5 reaction

We investigate the competing effect of vibrational and translational excitation and the validity of the Polanyi rules in the early- and negative-barrier F(²P_3/2) + C₂H₆ → HF + C₂H₅ reaction by performing quasi-classical dynamics simulations on a recently developed full-dimensional multi-reference analytical potential energy surface. The effect of five normal-mode excitations of ethane on the reactivity, the mechanism, and the post-reaction energy flow is followed through a wide range of collision energies. Promoting effects of vibrational excitations and interaction time, related to the slightly submerged barrier, are found to be suppressed by the early-barrier-induced translational enhancement, in contrast to the slightly late-barrier Cl + C₂H₆ reaction. The excess vibrational energy mostly converts into ethyl internal excitation while collision energy is transformed into product separation. The substantial reaction energy excites the HF vibration, which tends to show mode-specificity and translational energy dependence as well. With increasing collision energy, direct stripping becomes dominant over the direct rebound and indirect mechanisms, being basically independent of reactant excitation.

Vibrational mode-specificity in the dynamics of the Cl + C2H6 → HCl + C2H5 reaction

We report a detailed dynamics study on the mode-specificity of the Cl + C₂H₆ → HCl + C₂H₅ H-abstraction reaction. We perform quasi-classical trajectory simulations using a recently developed high-level ab initio full-dimensional potential energy surface by exciting five different vibrational modes of ethane at four collision energies. We find that all the studied vibrational excitations, except that of the CC-stretching mode, clearly promote the title reaction, and the vibrational enhancements are consistent with the predictions of the Sudden Vector Projection (SVP) model, with the largest effect caused by the CH-stretching excitations. Intramolecular vibrational redistribution is also monitored for the differently excited ethane molecule. Our results indicate that the mechanism of the reaction changes with increasing collision energy, with no mode-specificity at high energies. The initial translational energy mostly converts into product recoil, while a significant part of the excess vibrational energy remains in the ethyl radical. An interesting competition between translational and vibrational energies is observed for the HCl vibrational distribution: the effect of exciting the low-frequency ethane modes, having small SVP values, is suppressed by translational excitation, whereas a part of the excess vibrational energy pumped into the CH-stretching modes (larger SVP values) efficiently flows into the HCl vibration.

Benchmark ab initio stationary-point characterization of the complex potential energy surface of the multi-channel Cl + CH3NH2 reaction

We characterize the exothermic low/submerged-barrier hydrogen-abstraction (HCl + CH2NH2/CH3NH) as well as, for the first time, the endothermic high-barrier amino-substitution (CH3Cl + NH2), methyl-substitution (NH2Cl + CH3), and hydrogen-substitution (CH2ClNH2/CH3NHCl + H) pathways of the Cl + CH3NH2 reaction using an accurate composite ab initio approach. The computations reveal a CH3NH2Cl complex in the entrance channel, nine transition states corresponding to different abstractions, Walden-inversion substitution, and configuration-retaining front-side attack substitution pathways, as well as nine post-reaction complexes. The global minima of the electronic and vibrationally adiabatic potential energy surfaces correspond to the pre-reaction CH3NH2Cl and post-reaction CH2NH2HCl complexes, respectively. The benchmark composite energies of the stationary points are obtained by considering basis-set effects up to the correlation-consistent polarized valence quadruple-zeta basis augmented with diffuse functions (aug-cc-pVQZ) using the explicitly-correlated coupled-cluster singles, doubles, and perturbative triples CCSD(T)-F12b method, post-(T) correlation up to CCSDT(Q) including full triples and perturbative quadruples, core correlation, and scalar relativistic and spin-orbit effects, as well as harmonic zero-point energy corrections.

Imaging H abstraction dynamics in crossed molecular beams: O(3P) + propanol isomers

Direct rebound dynamics are revealed for bimolecular reaction of the ground state O(³P) atom with propanol isomers, involving the post transition state long-range dipole–dipole interaction between the dipolar OH and hydroxypropyl radicals.

Taking the plunge: chemical reaction dynamics in liquids

The dynamics of chemical reactions in liquid solutions are now amenable to direct study using ultrafast laser spectroscopy techniques and advances in computer simulation methods. The surrounding solvent affects the chemical reaction dynamics in numerous ways, which include: (i) formation of complexes between reactants and solvent molecules; (ii) modifications to transition state energies and structures relative to the reactants and products; (iii) coupling between the motions of the reacting molecules and the solvent modes, and exchange of energy; (iv) solvent caging of reactants and products; and (v) structural changes to the solvation shells in response to the changing chemical identity of the solutes, on timescales which may be slower than the reactive events. This article reviews progress in the study of bimolecular chemical reaction dynamics in solution, concentrating on reactions which occur on ground electronic states. It illustrates this progress with reference to recent experimental and computational studies, and considers how the various ways in which a solvent affects the chemical reaction dynamics can be unravelled. Implications are considered for research in fields such as mechanistic synthetic chemistry.

Primary vs. secondary H-atom abstraction in the Cl-atom reaction with n-pentane

Velocity map imaging (VMI) measurements and quasi-classical trajectory (QCT) calculations on a newly developed, global potential energy surface (PES) combine to reveal the detailed mechanisms of reaction of Cl atoms with n-pentane. Images of the HCl (v = 0, J = 1, 2 and 3) products of reaction at a mean collision energy of 33.5 kJ mol^-1 determine the centre-of-mass frame angular scattering and kinetic energy release distributions. The HCl products form with relative populations of J = 0-5 levels that fit to a rotational temperature of 138 ± 13 K. Product kinetic energy release distributions agree well with those derived from a previous VMI study of the pentyl radical co-product [Estillore et al., J. Chem. Phys. 2010, 132, 164313], but the angular distributions show more pronounced forward scattering. The QCT calculations reproduce many of the experimental observations, and allow comparison of the site-specific dynamics of abstraction of primary and secondary H-atoms. They also quantify the relative reactivity towards Cl atoms of the three different H-atom environments in n-pentane.

An experimental and theoretical study of the gas phase kinetics of atomic chlorine reactions with CH3NH2, (CH3)2NH, and (CH3)3N

The first kinetic data for the gas phase reactions of amines with chlorine atoms.

Formation of nitrosamines and alkyldiazohydroxides in the gas phase: the CH3NH + NO reaction revisited

Aminyl free radicals of the form RN(•)H are formed in the photochemical oxidation of primary amines, and their reaction with (•)NO is an important tropospheric sink. Reaction of the parent methylamidogen radical (CH3N(•)H) with (•)NO in the gas phase has been studied using quantum chemical techniques and RRKM theory/master equation based kinetic modeling. Calculations with the G3X-K composite theoretical method indicate that reaction proceeds via exothermic formation of a primary nitrosamine intermediate, CH3NHNO, which can isomerize to an alkyldiazohydroxide, CH3NNOH, and further eliminate water to form diazomethane, CH2NN. Master equation simulations conducted at tropospheric conditions identify that the collisionally stabilized CH3NHNO and CH3NNOH isomers are the major reaction products, with smaller yields of CH2NN + H2O. A previously proposed mechanism in which the primary nitrosamine is destroyed via isomerization to CH2NHNOH, followed by reaction with O2 to produce CH2NH + HO2(•) + (•)NO, is disproved. In the atmosphere, CH2NN may be formed with sufficient vibrational energy to directly dissociate to singlet methylene ((1)CH2) and N2, whereas under combustion conditions this is expected to be the dominant pathway. This study suggests that stabilized primary nitrosamines can indeed form in the photochemical oxidation of amines, along with alkyldiazohydroxides and diazoalkanes. Both classes of compound are potent alkylating agents that may need to be considered in future atmospheric studies.

Velocity map imaging of the dynamics of bimolecular chemical reactions

The experimental technique of velocity map imaging (VMI) enables measurements to be made of the dynamics of chemical reactions that are providing unprecedented insights about reactive scattering. This perspective article illustrates how VMI, in combination with crossed-molecular beam, dual-beam or photo-initiated (Photoloc) methods, can reveal correlated information on the vibrational quantum states populated in the two products of a reaction, and the angular scattering of products (the differential cross section) formed in specific rotational and vibrational levels. Reactions studied by VMI techniques are being extended to those of polyatomic molecules or radicals, and of molecular ions. Subtle quantum-mechanical effects in bimolecular reactions can provide distinct signatures in the velocity map images, and are exemplified here by non-adiabatic dynamics on coupled potential energy surfaces, and by experimental evidence for scattering resonances.

Stereodynamics of Chlorine Atom Reactions with Organic Molecules

A series of recent experimental and computational studies has explored how the dynamics of hydrogen abstraction from organic molecules are affected by the presence of functional groups in the molecule and by basic structural motifs such as strained ring systems. Comparisons drawn between reactions of Cl atoms with alkanes such as ethane, Cl + CH3CH3--> HCl + CH3CH2, which serve as benchmark systems, and with functionalized molecules such as alcohols, amines, and alkyl halides, Cl + CH3X --> HCl + CH2X (X = OH, NH2, halogen, etc.) expose a wealth of mechanistic detail. Although the scattering dynamics, as revealed from measured angular distributions of the velocities of the HCl with quantum-state resolution, show many similarities, much-enhanced rotational excitation of the HCl products is observed from reactions of the functionalized molecules. The degree of rotational excitation of the HCl correlates with the dipole moment of the CH2X radical and is thus attributed, at least in part, to post-transition-state dipole-dipole interactions between the separating, polar reaction products. This interpretation is supported by direct dynamics trajectories computed on-the-fly, and the HCl rotation is thus argued to serve as an in situ probe of the angular anisotropy of the reaction potential energy surface in the post-transition-state region. Comparisons between the dynamics of reactions of dimethyl ether and the three- and four-membered-ring compounds oxirane (c-C2H4O) and oxetane (c-C3H6O) raise questions about the role of reorientation of the reaction products on a time scale commensurate with their separation. The shapes and structures of polyatomic molecules are thus demonstrated to have important consequences for the stereodynamics of these direct abstraction reactions.

Imaging the quantum-state specific differential cross sections of HCl formed from reactions of chlorine atoms with methanol and dimethyl ether

Center-of-mass frame scattering angle distributions obtained directly from crossed molecular beam velocity map images are reported for HCl formed in different rotational levels of its vibrational ground state by reaction of Cl atoms with CH3OH and CH3OCH3. Products are observed to scatter over all angles, with peaks in the distribution in the forward and backward directions (theta = 0 and 180 degrees with respect to the relative velocity vectors of the Cl atoms). Products of both reactions exhibit differential cross sections that vary with the rotational quantum number of the HCl, with a greater propensity for forward scatter for J = 2, shifting to more pronounced backward scatter for J = 5. This trend is, however, more evident for reaction of dimethyl ether than for methanol. The mean fractions of the available energy channeled into product kinetic energy vary with scattering angle, but the angle-averaged fractions are, respectively, 0.37 and 0.42 for the methanol and dimethyl ether reactions. On average, 46% or more of the available energy of the reactions becomes internal energy of the radical co-product. Results are interpreted with the aid of computed energies of transition states and molecular complexes along the reaction pathways, and comparisons are drawn with recent measurements of the scattering distributions and energy release for reactions of Cl atoms with small alkanes.

On-the-flyab initiotrajectory calculations of the dynamics of Cl atom reactions with methane, ethane and methanol

The dynamics of Cl atom reactions with methane, ethane, and methanol have been studied by calculation of quasi-classical trajectories, with computation of potential energies and gradients only at the geometries through which the trajectories pass. Trajectories were started from the transition state, with 2 kcal mol(-1) of energy given to the mode with an imaginary frequency (representing the reaction coordinate at the transition state) and inclusion of zero-point energy in some or all of the remaining vibrational modes. The trajectories were propagated as far as separated products, with the majority of potential energy calculations performed at the HF/6-31G level of theory. The rotational quantum state population distributions of the HCl products from the reactions of Cl atoms with methane, ethane and methanol peaked at J'=1, 2, and 6, respectively. The calculations thereby exhibit somewhat greater rotational excitation than is found experimentally, but correctly describe the trend of increasing HCl product rotation for the three respective reactions. In agreement with previous observations, only 4% of the energy available to the products of the reaction of Cl atoms with methane was channeled into CH3 radical internal energy, and 1% into HCl rotation, with 92% ending up as translational energy. For the reaction of Cl atoms with ethane and with methanol, the corresponding values for radical internal energy, HCl rotation and product translation are 21, 3, and 78%, and 46, 13, and 42%, respectively. For the latter two reactions, the radical internal energy is mostly accounted for by rotational motion. The clear increase in rotational excitation of the HCl products from the Cl atom reaction with methanol is explained in terms of a dipole-dipole interaction between the departing polar fragments. A smaller set of more computationally expensive trajectory calculations using potentials and gradients from the MP2/6-311G(d,p) level of theory were performed for reactions of Cl atoms with methanol, and give results in better agreement with experimentally measured HCl rotational excitation, consistent with the model of dipole-induced product rotation because the MP2/6-311G(d,p) calculations give smaller dipole moments for both products than the HF/6-31G calculations. The calculated angles between the rotational angular momentum vectors and recoil velocities of the radical peak sharply at 90 degrees for the reactions of Cl atoms with ethane and methanol, but exhibit a much broader distribution for reaction with methane.