Theoretical studies of unimolecular thermal decomposition reactions of n -hexane and n -hexene isomers

High-Pressure-Limit Rate Coefficients for HO2 Elimination Reactions of Hydroperoxyalkenylperoxy Radicals based on the Reaction Class Transition State Theory

Thermokinetic parameters and transport parameters are of great importance to the combustion model and the reaction rate rules are of great importance to construct the combustion reaction mechanism for hydrocarbon fuels. The HO₂ elimination reaction class for hydroperoxyalkenylperoxy radicals is one of the key reaction classes for olefin, for which the rate coefficients are lacking. Therefore, the rate coefficients and rate rules of the HO₂ elimination reaction class for hydroperoxyalkenylperoxy radicals are studied in this work. The reaction class transition state theory (RC-TST) is used to calculate the rate coefficients. In addition, the HO₂ elimination reaction class of hydroperoxyalkenylperoxy radicals is divided into four subclasses depending upon the type of H-C_β bond that is broken in the reactant molecules, and the rate rules are calculated by taking the average of rate coefficients from a representative set of reactions in a subclass. The calculated kinetics data would be valuable for the construction of the combustion reaction mechanism for olefin.

Calculation of Transport Parameters Using ab initio and AMOEBA Polarizable Force Field Methods

The transport properties of chemical species such as coefficients of diffusion, thermal conductivity, and viscosity have been widely used in combustion modeling. Lennard-Jones parameters fitted from the accurate intermolecular potential energy surfaces are crucial to obtain such information. Hence, a fast and accurate energy function is always desired for this purpose. In this study, the quality of a widely used polarizable force field AMOEBA was examined for the interaction between noble gases and n-alkanes. First, the intermolecular energy was compared between AMOEBA, MP2/CBS, MP2/aug'-cc-pVDZ, and QCISD(T)/CBS. The root mean squared error of the original AMOEBA was 10.31 cm^-1 against QCISD(T)/CBS for all conformations. This was comparable with the errors of 10.84 and 7.75 cm^-1 for MP2/aug'-cc-pVDZ and MP2/CBS, respectively. Further optimizing the van der Waals parameters of noble gases, the error of the force field against QCISD(T)/CBS was reduced to 6.24 cm^-1, even better than the MP2/CBS results. Based on the optimized force field parameters, the intermolecular Lennard-Jones parameters were derived using the spherically averaged method and one-dimensional minimization method for a set of (n-alkanes, noble gases) pairs. The discrepancy of the one-dimensional minimization predicted Lennard-Jones collision rates from the tabulated values was typically within 10%, while it could be as large as 20-30% for the spherically averaged method. Additionally, the binary diffusion coefficients were calculated using the present Lennard-Jones parameters. In this case, the parameters derived from the spherically averaged method perform better. The mean unsigned error of the diffusion coefficients is usually within 5%, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. The results demonstrate that the AMOEBA force field can be used to generate the transport parameters systematically.

Reaction Kinetics of Hydrogen Atom Abstraction from C4-C6 Alkenes by the Hydrogen Atom and Methyl Radical

Alkenes are important ingredients of realistic fuels and are also critical intermediates during the combustion of a series of other fuels including alkanes, cycloalkanes, and biofuels. To provide insights into the combustion behavior of alkenes, detailed quantum chemical studies for crucial reactions are desired. Hydrogen abstractions of alkenes play a very important role in determining the reactivity of fuel molecules. This work is motivated by previous experimental and modeling evidence that current literature rate coefficients for the abstraction reactions of alkenes are still in need of refinement and/or redetermination. In light of this, this work reports a theoretical and kinetic study of hydrogen atom abstraction reactions from C4-C6 alkenes by the hydrogen (H) atom and methyl (CH₃) radical. A series of C4-C6 alkene molecules with enough structural diversity are taken into consideration. Geometry and vibrational properties are determined at the B3LYP/6-31G(2df,p) level implemented in the Gaussian-4 (G4) composite method. The G4 level of theory is used to calculate the electronic single point energies for all species to determine the energy barriers. Conventional transition state theory with Eckart tunneling corrections is used to determine the high-pressure-limit rate constants for 47 elementary reaction rate coefficients. To faciliate their applications in kinetic modeling, the obtained rate constants are given in the Arrhenius expression and rate coefficients for typical reaction classes are recommended. The overall rate coefficients for the reaction of H atom and CH₃ radical with all the studied alkenes are also compared. Branching ratios of these reaction channels for certain alkenes have also been analyzed.