Interlocking Triplet Electronic States of Isocyanic Acid: Sources of Nonadiabatic Photofragmentation Dynamics

Determination of the rate constant and product channels for the radical–radical reaction NCO(X 2Π) + C2H5(X 2A″) at 293 K

The rate constant and product branching ratios for the reaction of the cyanato radical, NCO(X (2)Pi), with the ethyl radical, C(2)H(5)(X (2)A''), have been measured over the pressure range of 0.28 to 0.59 kPa and at a temperature of 293 +/- 2 K. The total rate constant, k(1), increased with pressure, P(kPa), described by k(1) = (1.25 +/- 0.16) x 10(-10) + (4.22 +/- 0.35) x 10(-10)P cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1). Three product channels were observed that were not pressure dependent: (1a) HNCO + C(2)H(4), k(1a) = (1.1 +/- 0.16) x 10(-10), (1b) HONC + C(2)H(4), k(1b) = (2.9 +/- 1.3) x 10(-11), (1c) HCN + C(2)H(4)O, k(1c) = (8.7 +/- 1.5) x 10(-13), with units cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) and uncertainties of one-standard deviation in the scatter of the data. The pressure dependence was attributed to a forth channel, (1d), forming recombination products C(2)H(5)NCO and/or C(2)H(5)OCN, with pressure dependence: (1d) k(1d) = (0.090 +/- 1.3) x 10(-11) + (3.91 +/- 0.27) x 10(-10)P cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1). The radicals were generated by the 248 nm photolysis of ClNCO in an excess of C(2)H(6). Quantitative infrared time-resolved absorption spectrophotometry was used to follow the temporal dependence of the reactants and the appearance of the products. Five species were monitored, HCl, NCO, HCN, HNCO, and C(2)H(4), providing a detailed picture of the chemistry occurring in the system. Other rate constants were also measured: ClNCO + C(2)H(5), k(10) = (2.3 +/- 1.2) x 10(-13) , NCO + C(2)H(6), k(2) = (1.6 +/- 0.11) x 10(-14), NCO + C(4)H(10), k(4) = (5.3 +/- 0.51) x 10(-13), with units cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) and uncertainties of one-standard deviation in the scatter of the data.