Reaction between CH₃C(O)OOH (peracetic acid) and OH in the gas-phase: A combined experimental and theoretical study of the kinetics and mechanism

Peracetic acid (CH3C(O)OOH) is one of the most abundant organic peroxides in the atmosphere, yet the kinetics of its reaction with OH, believed to be the major sink, have been studied only once experimentally. In this work we combine a pulsed-laser photolysis kinetic study of the title reaction with theoretical calculations of the rate coefficient and mechanism. We demonstrate that the rate coefficient is orders of magnitude lower than previously determined, with an experimentally derived upper limit of ≤ 4 × 10−14 cm3 molecule−1 s−1. The relatively low rate coefficient is in good agreement with the theoretical result of 3 × 10−14 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 at 298 K, increasing to ~ 6 × 10−14 in the cold upper troposphere, but with associated uncertainty of a factor-two. The reaction proceeds mainly via abstraction of the peroxidic-hydrogen via a relatively weakly bonded and short-lived pre-reaction complex, in which H-abstraction occurs only slowly due to a high barrier and low tunneling probabilities. Our results imply that the lifetime of CH3C(O)OOH with respect to OH-initiated degradation in the atmosphere is of the order of one year (and not days as previously believed) and that its major sink in the free and upper troposphere is likely to be photolysis, with dry-deposition important in the boundary layer. Similar conclusions can be made for other, saturated peroxy-acids.

Phase Equalization, Charge Transfer, Information Flows and Electron Communications in Donor–Acceptor Systems

Subsystem phases and electronic flows involving the acidic and basic sites of the donor (B) and acceptor (A) substrates of chemical reactions are revisited. The emphasis is placed upon the phase–current relations, a coherence of elementary probability flows in the preferred reaction complex, and on phase-equalization in the equilibrium state of the whole reactive system. The overall and partial charge-transfer (CT) phenomena in alternative coordinations are qualitatively examined and electronic communications in A—B systems are discussed. The internal polarization (P) of reactants is examined, patterns of average electronic flows are explored, and energy changes associated with P/CT displacements are identified using the chemical potential and hardness descriptors of reactants and their active sites. The nonclassical (phase/current) contributions to resultant gradient information are investigated and the preferred current-coherence in such donor–acceptor systems is predicted. It is manifested by the equalization of equilibrium local phases in the entangled subsystems.

Strong inverse kinetic isotope effect observed in ammonia charge exchange reactions

Isotopic substitution has long been used to understand the detailed mechanisms of chemical reactions; normally the substitution of hydrogen by deuterium leads to a slower reaction. Here, we report our findings on the charge transfer collisions of cold $${{\rm{Xe}}}^{+}$$Xe+ ions and two isotopologues of ammonia, $${{\rm{NH}}}_{3}$$NH3 and $${{\rm{ND}}}_{3}$$ND3. Deuterated ammonia is found to react more than three times faster than hydrogenated ammonia. Classical capture models are unable to account for this pronounced inverse kinetic isotope effect. Moreover, detailed ab initio calculations cannot identify any (energetically accessible) crossing points between the reactant and product potential energy surfaces, indicating that electron transfer is likely to be slow. The higher reactivity of $${{\rm{ND}}}_{3}$$ND3 is attributed to the greater density of states (and therefore lifetime) of the deuterated reaction complex compared to the hydrogenated system. Our observations could provide valuable insight into possible mechanisms contributing to deuterium fractionation in the interstellar medium.

Photoelectron spectroscopic study of I−·ICF3: a frontside attack SN2 pre-reaction complex

The I−·ICF3 complex, a frontside attack pre-reaction complex of a classic SN2 reaction, is produced and studied using photoelectron spectroscopy.

Comparison of Complex Formation Mechanisms in Hydrogen Abstraction Reaction between the Nitro Compound and Ammonia

The present work aims to compare two possible pathways of a pre-reaction complex in the reaction of transfer of a hydrogen atom from ammonia to a nitro compound forming. Nitrobenzene, nitromethane, and HNO2 were used as nitro compounds. The proposed paths are: nitro compound intersystem crossing with a subsequent search for a substrate, or the formation of a complex with its subsequent excitation. The calculations were performed using TDPBE0/TDA/aug-cc-pVDZ method in NWChem-6.8 program. For verification purposes, some additional calculations were performed using RASCI/aug-cc-pVDZ method in PSI4 program. The location of the levels and the geometry of the complexes shows that the triplet complex (exciplex) is more stable than the singlet complex. The weak coupling between molecules in the singlet complex indicates that the probability of its excitation is very small. Moreover, there are experimental data, where the quantum yields of such reactions reach 0.3. The presented calculations confirm the mechanism of the nitro compound intersystem crossing with a subsequent search for a substrate.