Determination of Rate Constants and Product Branching Ratios for the Reactions of CH3O2and CH3O with Cl Atoms at Room Temperature

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, r_CH3O. A value of 0.34 ± 0.05 (errors at 2σ level) was determined for r_CH3O at 295 K. The temperature dependence of r_CH3O can be parametrized as r_CH3O = 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 k_overall = (9.1 ± 5.3) × 10^–14 × exp((252 ± 174)/T) cm³ molecule^–1 s^–1. The found values of k_overall 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 k_overall in the previous studies using flash photolysis to initiate the chemistry. The overestimation of the k_overall 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.

The atmospheric importance of methylamine additions to Criegee intermediates

The methylamine addition to Criegee intermediates is investigated using high level ab initio methods.

Criegee intermediates and their impacts on the troposphere

Criegee intermediates (CIs), carbonyl oxides formed in ozonolysis of alkenes, play key roles in the troposphere. The decomposition of CIs can be a significant source of OH to the tropospheric oxidation cycle especially during nighttime and winter months. A variety of model-measurement studies have estimated surface-level stabilized Criegee intermediate (sCI) concentrations on the order of 1 × 10⁴ cm^-3 to 1 × 10⁵ cm^-3, which makes a non-negligible contribution to the oxidising capacity in the terrestrial boundary layer. The reactions of sCI with the water monomer and the water dimer have been found to be the most important bimolecular reactions to the tropospheric sCI loss rate, at least for the smallest carbonyl oxides; the products from these reactions (e.g. hydroxymethyl hydroperoxide, HMHP) are also of importance to the atmospheric oxidation cycle. The sCI can oxidise SO₂ to form SO₃, which can go on to form a significant amount of H₂SO₄ which is a key atmospheric nucleation species and therefore vital to the formation of clouds. The sCI can also react with carboxylic acids, carbonyl compounds, alcohols, peroxy radicals and hydroperoxides, and the products of these reactions are likely to be highly oxygenated species, with low vapour pressures, that can lead to nucleation and SOA formation over terrestrial regions.