Ab Initio and Direct Dynamics Studies of the Reaction of Singlet Methylene with Acetylene and the Lifetime of the Cyclopropene Complex

Hydrogen abstraction/addition reactions in soot surface growth

The hydrogen abstraction (HB) and addition reactions (HD) by H radicals are examined on a series of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) monomers and models of quasi-surfaces using quasi-classical trajectory (QCT) method. QCT results reproduce the rate constants of HB reactions on PAH monomers from density functional theory (DFT) in the range of 1500-2700 K. The PAH size has a minor impact on the rates of HB reactions, especially at temperatures beyond 2100 K. In contrast, HD reactions have a clear size dependence, and a larger PAH yields a higher rate. It was also found that the preferred reaction pathway changes from HB to HD reactions at ∼1900 K. The rates of surface HB and HD reactions exceed those in the gas phase by nearly one factor of magnitude. Further analysis of the detailed trajectory of the QCT method reveals that about 50% of surface reactions can be attributed to the events of surface diffusion, which depends on the local energy transfer in gas-surface interactions. However, this phenomenon is not preferred in PAH monomers, as expected. Our finding here questions the treatment of the surface reactions of soot as the product of the first collision between the gaseous species and particle surface. The surface diffusion-induced reactions should be accounted for in the rates of the surface HB and HD reactions. The rate constants of HB and HD reactions on each reactive site (surface zig-zag, surface free-edge and pocket free-edge sites) were calculated by QCT method, and are recommended for the further development of surface chemistry models in soot formation.

Spherical electron cloud hopping molecular dynamics simulation on dissociative recombination of protonated water

Dissociative recombination (DR) of H(3)O(+) with electrons at zero collision energy has been studied by a direct ab initio molecular dynamics method on four low-lying electronic states of the system. Initial conditions for trajectories are determined by a spherical electron cloud hopping (SECH) model, while nonadiabatic effects are considered through a surface hopping scheme. The energies, forces, and nonadiabatic coupling strengths (NACS) used in trajectory propagations are calculated on-the-fly via state-average complete active self-consistent field (CASSCF) theory with full valence electrons. Dynamics results show that the H(3)O(+) DR is ultrafast and yields diversity of products. Product branching fractions are predicted to be 0.660 for (OH + 2H), 0.230 for (H(2)O + H), 0.108 for (OH + H(2)), and 0.002 for (O + H + H(2)), which are in excellent agreement with the heavy-ion storage ring experimental results. Kinetic energies of the eliminated hydrogen atoms are large and show a bimodal distribution.

Quantum force molecular dynamics study of the reaction of O atoms with HOCO

The reaction of HOCO with O atoms has been studied using a direct ab initio dynamics approach based on the scaling all correlation UCCD/D95(d,p) method. Ab initio calculations point to two possible reaction mechanisms for the O+HOCO-->OH+CO2 reaction. They are a direct hydrogen abstraction and an oxygen addition reaction through a short-lived HOC(O)O intermediate. The dynamics results show that only the addition mechanism is important under the conditions considered here. The lifetime of the HOC(O)O complex is predicted to be 172+/-15 fs. This is typical of a direct and fast radical-radical reaction. At room temperature, the calculated thermal rate coefficient is 1.44 x 10(-11) cm(3) mol(-1) s(-1) and its temperature dependence is rather weak. The two kinds of reactive trajectories are illustrated in detail.

Regioselectivity and mechanism of dihalocarbene addition to benzocyclopropene

Dihalocarbenes add regioselectively to aryl-substituted benzocyclopropenes to produce dihalobenzocyclobutenes. The regioselectivity of addition is not due to steric effects but depends on the electronic donor or acceptor ability of the substituent. B3LYP/6-31G* calculations show preferential :CCl2 addition to substituted benzocyclopropene through electrophilic attack on the benzocyclopropene pi-system (Ea = 1.1-2.4 kcal/mol) rather than C-C sigma-bond insertion into the cyclopropenyl moiety (Ea = 5-24 kcal/mol). pi-Addition proceeds regioselectively through a single transition state to xylylene intermediates or directly to benzocyclobutene products.

Thermochemistry of Key Soot Formation Intermediates: C3H3 Isomers

Accurate standard enthalpies of formation for allene, propyne, and four C3H3 isomers involved in soot formation mechanisms have been determined through systematic focal point extrapolations of ab initio energies. Auxiliary corrections have been applied for anharmonic zero-point vibrational energy, core electron correlation, the diagonal Born-Oppenheimer correction (DBOC), and scalar relativistic effects. Electron correlation has been accounted for via second-order Z-averaged perturbation theory (ZAPT2) and primarily through coupled-cluster theory, including single, double, and triple excitations, as well as a perturbative treatment of connected quadruple excitations [ROCCSD, ROCCSD(T), ROCCSDT, and UCCSDT(Q)]. The correlation-consistent hierarchy of basis sets, cc-pVXZ (X = D, T, Q, 5, 6), was employed. The CCSDT(Q) corrections do not exceed 0.12 kcal mol(-)1 for the relative energies of the systems considered here, indicating a high degree of electron correlation convergence in the present results. Our recommended values for the enthalpies of formation are as follows: Delta(f)H(o)(0)(propargyl) = 84.76, Delta(f)H(o)(0) (1-propynyl) = 126.60, Delta(f)H(o)(0) (cycloprop-1-enyl) = 126.28, Delta(f)H(o)(0)(cycloprop-2-enyl) = 117.36, Delta(f)H(o)(0)(allene) = 47.41, and Delta(f)H(o)(0)(propyne) = 46.33 kcal mol(-1), with estimated errors no larger than 0.3 kcal mol(-1). The corresponding C3H3 isomerization energies are about 1 kcal mol(-1) larger than previous coupled-cluster results and several kcal mol(-1) below those previously obtained using density functional theory.

Pd-Fe nanoparticles as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction

We have synthesized new electrocatalysts for the O2 reduction reaction that does not contain Pt. They consist of carbon-supported Pd-Fe alloys and have very high oxygen reduction. The nanoparticles with a Pd:Fe molar ratio of 3:1 (Pd3Fe/C) show a higher mass activity than that of commercial Pt/C. The surface-specific activity of the Pd-Fe alloys is related to the Pd-Pd bond distance: the shorter the bond distance, the higher the activity. This new class of electrocatalysts promises to alleviate some major problems of existing fuel cell technology by simultaneously decreasing materials cost and enhancing performance.

Quantum Molecular Dynamics Study of the Reaction of O2 with HOCO

The reaction of O2 with HOCO has been studied by using an ab initio direct dynamics method based on the UB3PW91 density functional theory. Results show that the reaction can occur via two mechanisms: direct hydrogen abstraction and an addition reaction through a short-lived HOC(O)O2 intermediate. The lifetime of the intermediate is predicted to be 660 +/- 30 fs. Although it is an activated reaction, the activation energy is only 0.71 kcal/mol. At room temperature, the obtained thermal rate coefficient is 2.1 x 10(-12) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1), which is in good agreement with the experimental results.

Global Mapping of Equilibrium and Transition Structures on Potential Energy Surfaces by the Scaled Hypersphere Search Method: Applications to ab Initio Surfaces of Formaldehyde and Propyne Molecules

Technical details of a new global mapping technique for finding equilibrium (EQ) and transition structures (TS) on potential energy surfaces (PES), the scaled hypersphere search (SHS) method (Ohno, K.; Maeda, S. Chem. Phys. Lett. 2004, 384, 277), are presented. On the basis of a simple principle that reaction pathways are found as anharmonic downward distortions of PES around an EQ point, the reaction pathways can be obtained as energy minima on the scaled hypersphere surface, which would have a constant energy when the potentials are harmonic. Connections of SHS paths between each EQ are very similar to corresponding intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) connections. The energy maximum along the SHS path reaches a region in close proximity to the TS of the reaction pathway, and the subsequent geometry optimization from the SHS maximum structure easily converges to the TS. The SHS method, using the one-after-another algorithm connecting EQ and TS, considerably reduces the multidimensional space to be searched to certain limited regions around the pathways connecting each EQ with the neighboring TS. Applications of the SHS method have been made to ab initio surfaces of formaldehyde and propyne molecules to obtain systematically five EQ and nine TS for formaldehyde and seven EQ and 32 TS for propyne.

Direct ab Initio Dynamics Study of the OH + HOCO Reaction

The reaction between OH and HOCO has been examined using the coupled-cluster method to locate and optimize the critical points on the ground-state potential energy surface. The energetics are refined using the coupled-cluster method with basis set extrapolation to the complete basis set (CBS) limit. Results show that the OH + HOCO reaction produces H2O + CO2 as final products and the reaction passes through an HOC(O)OH intermediate. In addition, the OH + HOCO reaction has been studied using a direct dynamics method with a dual-level ab initio theory. Dynamics calculations show that hydrogen bonding plays an important role during the initial stages of the reaction. The thermal rate constant is estimated over the temperature range 250-800 K. The OH + HOCO reaction is found to be nearly temperature-independent at lower temperatures, and at 300 K, the thermal rate constant is predicted to be 1.03 x 10(-11) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1). In addition, there may be an indication of a small peak in the rate constant at a temperature between 300 and 400 K.