Photochemical processes induced by vibrational overtone excitations: dynamics simulations for cis-HONO, trans-HONO, HNO3, and HNO3-H2O

Unusual In-plane Aromaticity Facilitates Intramolecular Hydrogen Transfer in Long-Bonded cis-Isonitrosyl Methoxide

The hydrogen-atom transfer from methoxy radical to nitric oxide, leading to the formation of formaldehyde and nitroxyl, represents a secondary reaction of photodissociation of methyl nitrite, which is used as rocket fuel. In this study, we explored the potential energy profile of the hydrogen-atom transfer using the electronic structure calculations at the DLPNO-CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory for two isomeric forms (cis and trans) of the pre-reaction complex. The cis-oriented pre-reaction complex has a weak elongated O─O bond, which gets further elongated in the hydrogen transfer transition state. This O─O bond stabilizes the pre-reaction complex by 32.9 kJ/mol. The O─O-induced stabilization is even greater for the transition state (48.2 kJ/mol), which was unexpected because of the larger O─O distance in the transition state structure. To address this paradox, we performed the electronic structure analysis of the reaction participants using the valence bond (VB) theory, natural resonance theory, topological analysis of the electron density and its derivatives, and analysis of the electron localization function distribution. This combined analysis led to the conclusion that the cis-transition state for hydrogen transfer, instead of being directly stabilized by the O─O interaction, gained substantial stabilization from the in-plane five-center six-electron aromaticity.

Internal- and rho-axis systems of molecules with one large amplitude internal motion: The geometry of rho

The internal-axis system (IAS) of molecules with a large amplitude internal motion (LAM) is determined by integrating the kinematic equation of the IAS by Lie-group and Lie-algebraic methods. Numerical examples on hydrogen peroxide, nitrous acid, and acetaldehyde demonstrate the methods. By exploiting the special product structure of the solution matrix, simple methods are devised for calculating the transformation to the rho-axis system (RAS) along with the value of the parameter ρ characterizing a RAS rotational-LAM kinetic energy operator. The parameter ρ so calculated agrees exactly with that one obtained by the Floquet method as shown in the example of acetaldehyde. Geometrical interpretation of ρ is given. The advantageous property of the RAS over the IAS in retaining simple periodic boundary conditions is numerically demonstrated.

Acceleration of a ground-state reaction by selective femtosecond-infrared-laser-pulse excitation

Infrared (IR) excitation of vibrations that participate in the reaction coordinate of an otherwise thermally driven chemical reaction are believed to lead to its acceleration. Attempts at the practical realization of this concept have been hampered so far by competing processes leading to sample heating. Here we demonstrate, using femtosecond IR-pump IR-probe experiments, the acceleration of urethane and polyurethane formation due to vibrational excitation of the reactants for 1:1 mixtures of phenylisocyanate and cyclohexanol, and toluene-2,4-diisocyanate and 2,2,2-trichloroethane-1,1-diol, respectively. We measured reaction rate changes upon selective vibrational excitation with negligible heating of the sample and observed an increase of the reaction rate up to 24%. The observation is rationalized using reactant and transition-state structures obtained from quantum chemical calculations. We subsequently used IR-driven reaction acceleration to write a polyurethane square on sample windows using a femtosecond IR pulse.

Nanoparticles grown from methanesulfonic acid and methylamine: microscopic structures and formation mechanism

Mechanisms of particle formation and growth in the atmosphere are of great interest due to their impacts on climate, health and visibility. However, the microscopic structures and related properties of the smallest nanoparticles are not known. In this paper we pursue computationally a microscopic description for the formation and growth of methanesulfonic acid (MSA) and methylamine (MA) particles under dry conditions. Energetic and dynamics simulations were used to assess the stabilities of proposed model structures for these particles. Density functional theory (DFT) and semi-empirical (PM3) calculations suggest that (MSA-MA)₄ is a major intermediate in the growth process, with the dissociation energies, enthalpies and free energies indicating considerable stability for this cluster. Dynamics simulations show that this species is stable for at least 100 ps at temperatures up to 500 K, well above atmospheric temperatures. In order to reach experimentally detectable sizes (>1.4 nm), continuing growth is suggested to occur via clustering of (MSA-MA)₄. The dimer (MSA-MA)₄(MSA-MA)₄ may be one of the smaller experimentally measured particles. Step by step addition of MSA to (MSA-MA)₄, is also a likely potential growth mechanism when MSA is excess. In addition, an MSA-MA crystal is predicted to exist. These studies demonstrate that computations of particle structure and dynamics in the nano-size range can be useful for molecular level understanding of processes that grow clusters into detectable particles.

Ozone production chemistry in the presence of urban plumes

Ozone pollution affects human health, especially in urban areas on hot sunny days. Its basic photochemistry has been known for decades and yet it is still not possible to correctly predict the high ozone levels that are the greatest threat. The CalNex_SJV study in Bakersfield CA in May/June 2010 provided an opportunity to examine ozone photochemistry in an urban area surrounded by agriculture. The measurement suite included hydroxyl (OH), hydroperoxyl (HO₂), and OH reactivity, which are compared with the output of a photochemical box model. While the agreement is generally within combined uncertainties, measured HO₂ far exceeds modeled HO₂ in NO_x-rich plumes. OH production and loss do not balance as they should in the morning, and the ozone production calculated with measured HO₂ is a decade greater than that calculated with modeled HO₂ when NO levels are high. Calculated ozone production using measured HO₂ is twice that using modeled HO₂, but this difference in calculated ozone production has minimal impact on the assessment of NO_x-sensitivity or VOC-sensitivity for midday ozone production. Evidence from this study indicates that this important discrepancy is not due to the HO₂ measurement or to the sampling of transported plumes but instead to either emissions of unknown organic species that accompany the NO emissions or unknown photochemistry involving nitrogen oxides and hydrogen oxides, possibly the hypothesized reaction OH + NO + O₂ → HO₂ + NO₂.

Changes of water hydrogen bond network with different externalities

It is crucial to uncover the mystery of water cluster and structural motif to have an insight into the abundant anomalies bound to water. In this context, the analysis of influence factors is an alternative way to shed light on the nature of water clusters. Water structure has been tentatively explained within different frameworks of structural models. Based on comprehensive analysis and summary of the studies on the response of water to four externalities (i.e., temperature, pressure, solutes and external fields), the changing trends of water structure and a deduced intrinsic structural motif are put forward in this work. The variations in physicochemical and biological effects of water induced by each externality are also discussed to emphasize the role of water in our daily life. On this basis, the underlying problems that need to be further studied are formulated by pointing out the limitations attached to current study techniques and to outline prominent studies that have come up recently.

Photochemistry of aldehyde clusters: cross-molecular versus unimolecular reaction dynamics

Semi-empirical on-the-fly dynamics simulations reveal the importance of cross-molecular reactions in the photochemistry of aldehyde clusters.

Ab initio and semi-empirical Molecular Dynamics simulations of chemical reactions in isolated molecules and in clusters

Recent progress in “on-the-fly” trajectory simulations of molecular reactions, using different electronic structure methods is discussed, with analysis of the insights that such calculations can provide and of the strengths and limitations of the algorithms available.

Detection and structure of HOON: microwave spectroscopy reveals an O-O bond exceeding 1.9 Å

Nitric oxide (NO) reacts with hydroxyl radicals (OH) in the gas phase to produce nitrous acid, HONO, but essentially nothing is known about the isomeric nitrosyl-O-hydroxide (HOON), owing to its perceived instability. We report the detection of gas-phase HOON in a supersonic molecular beam by Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy and a precise determination of its molecular structure by further spectroscopic analysis of its (2)H, (15)N, and (18)O isotopologs. HOON contains the longest O-O bond in any known molecule (1.9149 ± 0.0005 Å) and appears surprisingly stable, with an abundance roughly 3% that of HONO in our experiments.

Vibrationally induced dissociation of sulfuric acid (H2SO4)

One of the important reactive steps in Earth's atmosphere is the decomposition of H(2)SO(4) to H(2)O and SO(3). However, because the UV spectrum of H(2)SO(4) was not found up to 140 nm, alternative mechanisms, including vibrationally induced dissociation, were proposed. Using adiabatic reactive molecular dynamics (ARMD) simulations with validated force fields for the product and educt channels, it is shown through explicit atomistic simulation that by exciting the ν(9) (OH-stretching-) mode, photodissociation can occur on the picosecond time scale. With the potential energy surfaces used in the present work, ν(9) = 4 is sufficient for this process. From a statistically significant number of trajectories (several thousands), vibrationally induced dissociation times are found to follow Gamma-distributions with most likely reaction times between 40 and 200 ps by depositing energies ranging from 40 to 60 kcal/mol, corresponding to 4 and 6 vibrational quanta in the OH stretching vibration. Because ARMD simulations allow multiple and long-time simulations, both nonstatistical, impulsive H-transfer and statistical, IVR-regimes of the decomposition reaction can be discussed in detail at an atomistic level.

Conformational transitions of glycine induced by vibrational excitation of the O-H stretch

Vibrational energy flow and conformational transitions following excitation of the OH stretching mode of the most stable conformer of glycine are studied by classical trajectories. "On the fly" simulations with the PM3 semiempirical electronic structure method for the potential surface are used. Initial conditions are selected to correspond to the ν=1 excitation of the OH stretch. The main findings are: (1) An an equilibrium-like ratio is established between the populations of the 3 lowest-lying conformers after about 10 picoseconds. (2) There is a high probability throughout the 150 ps of the simulations for finding the molecule in geometries far from the equilibrium structures of the lowest-energy conformers. (3) Energy from the initial excited OH (ν=1) stretch flows preferentially to 5 other vibrational modes, including the bending motion of the H atom. (4) RRK theory yields conformational transition rates that deviate substantially from the classical trajectory results. Possible implication of these results for vibrational energy flow and conformational transitions in small biological molecules are discussed.

Slice imaging of nitric acid photodissociation: The O(1D) + HONO channel

We report an imaging study of nitric acid (HNO(3)) photodissociation near 204 nm with detection of O((1)D), one of the major decomposition products in this region. The images show structure reflecting the vibrational distribution of the HONO coproduct and significant angular anisotropy that varies with recoil speed. The images also show substantial alignment of the O((1)D) orbital, which is analyzed using an approximate treatment that reveals that the polarization is dominated by incoherent, high order contributions. The results offer additional insight into the dynamics of the dissociation of nitric acid through the S(3) (2 (1)A(')) excited state, resolving an inconsistency in previously reported angular distributions, and pointing the way to future studies of the angular momentum polarization.

Molecular dynamic simulations of OH-stretching overtone induced photodissociation of fluorosulfonic and chlorosulfonic acid

We investigate the OH-stretching overtone dynamics of fluorosulfonic acid (FSO(3)H) and chlorosulfonic acid (ClSO(3)H) using classical trajectory simulations. The initial nuclear coordinates and momenta for the trajectories are sampled from anharmonic correlation-corrected vibrational self consistent field (CC-VSCF) wavefunctions. We consider both OH-stretching overtone states and combination states containing a mix of OH-stretching overtones and SOH-bending or OSOH-torsional modes. Our molecular dynamics simulations confirm that photodissociation of these sulfonic acids to form the corresponding hydrogen halides and sulfur trioxide (HF + SO(3) and HCl + SO(3)), is possible via highly vibrationally excited states on a picosecond timescale. Hydrogen-hopping events are also observed in the trajectories whereby the hydrogen atom of the excited OH group is found to migrate to one of the adjacent S=O groups. The transition states, activation energies and dissociation dynamics of FSO(3)H and ClSO(3)H are found to be similar to those of H(2)SO(4). We suggest that these halogenated sulfonic acids should be suitable proxy molecules for an experimental investigation of the OH-stretching overtone induced photodissociation of H(2)SO(4) thought to be important in Earths' atmosphere.

Dynamics of vibrational overtone excitations of H2SO4, H2SO4-H2O: hydrogen-hopping and photodissociation processes

Photochemical processes of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and sulfuric acid monohydrate (H2SO4-H2O) following overtone excitation of the OH stretching mode are studied by classical trajectory simulations using the semiempirical PM3 potential suface in "on the fly" calculations. The main results are the following: (1) In the excitation of H2SO4 to the fifth OH-stretch overtone, hopping of the H atom between oxygen atoms is found to take place in 22% of the trajectories, only once during simulations of 400 ps. (2) All the trajectories for H2SO4 show a rapid cis-trans isomerization. (3) The photolysis of H2SO4 into SO3 + H2O takes place in 5% of the trajectories on a time scale of approximately 9 ps. (4) Only low overtone levels of H2SO4-H2O have sufficiently long lifetimes to be spectroscopically relevant. Excitation to these OH stretching overtones is found to result in the dissociation of the cluster. H hopping or dissociation of H2SO4 does not take place.

Quasiclassical trajectory calculations of the OH+NO2 association reaction on a global potential energy surface

We report a full-dimensional potential energy surface (PES) for the OH+NO(2) reaction based on fitting more than 55,000 energies obtained with density functional theory-B3LYP6-311G(d,p) calculations. The PES is invariant with respect to permutation of like nuclei and describes all isomers of HOONO, HONO(2), and the fragments OH+NO(2) and HO(2)+NO. Detailed comparison of the structures, energies, and harmonic frequencies of various stationary points on the PES are made with previous and present high-level ab initio calculations. Two hydrogen-bond complexes are found on the PES and confirmed by new ab initio CASPT2 calculations. Quasiclassical trajectory calculations of the cross sections for ground rovibrational OH+NO(2) association reactions to form HOONO and HONO(2) are done using this PES. The cross section to form HOONO is larger than the one to form HONO(2) at low collision energies but the reverse is found at higher energies. The enhancement of the HOONO complex at low collision energies is shown to be due, in large part, to the transient formation of a H-bond complex, which decays preferentially to HOONO. The association cross sections are used to obtain rate constants for formation of HOONO and HONO(2) for the ground rovibrational states in the high-pressure limit.

Vibrational overtone induced elimination reactions within hydrogen-bonded molecular clusters: the dynamics of water catalyzed reactions in CH2FOH·(H2O)n

The dynamics of the light initiated OH-overtone induced elimination reactions CH(2)FOH.(H(2)O)(n) + hnu--> HF + CH(2)O + n(H(2)O), n = 1-3, are studied using classical trajectory simulations where the ab initio potential energy surface is computed "on-the-fly". Hydrogen bonding to the water is found to lower the barrier to reaction by over 20 kcal mol(-1) and modifies the mechanism to a concerted multiple H-atom transfer process. The reaction process is found to occur on a rapid timescale, <100 fs, and involves the hydronium ion as an intermediate. An essential aspect of dynamics is the successful competition of reaction with energy dissipation through water evaporation from the cluster.

Infrared overtone spectroscopy and vibrational analysis of a Fermi resonance in nitric acid: Experiment and theory

High resolution infrared spectra of nitric acid have been recorded in the first OH overtone region under jet-cooled conditions using a sequential IR-UV excitation method. Vibrational bands observed at 6933.39(3), 6938.75(4), and 6951.985(3) cm(-1) (origins) with relative intensities of 0.42(1), 0.38(1), and 0.20(1) are attributed to strongly mixed states involved in a Fermi resonance. A vibrational deperturbation analysis suggests that the optically bright OH overtone stretch (2nu1) at 6939.2(1) cm(-1) is coupled directly to the nu1 + 2nu2 state at 6946.4(1) cm(-1) and indirectly to the 3nu2 + nu3 + nu7 state at 6938.5(1) cm(-1). Both the identity of the zero-order states and the indirect coupling scheme are deduced from complementary CCSD(T) calculations in conjunction with second-order vibrational perturbation theory. The deperturbation analysis also yields the experimental coupling between 2nu1 and nu1 + 2nu2 of -6.9(1) cm(-1), and that between the two dark states of +5.0(1) cm(-1). The calculated vibrational energies and couplings are in near quantitative agreement with experimentally derived values except for a predicted twofold stronger coupling of 2nu1 to nu1 + 2nu2. Weaker coupling of the strongly mixed states to a dense background of vibrational states via intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution is evident from the experimental linewidths of 0.08 and 0.25 cm(-1) for the higher energy and two overlapping lower energy bands, respectively. A comprehensive rotational analysis of the higher energy band yields spectroscopic parameters and the direction of the OH overtone transition dipole moment.