Impact of a single water molecule on the atmospheric oxidation of thiophene by hydroperoxyl radical

Water as an important assistant can alter the reactivity of atmospheric species. This project is designed to investigate the impact of a single water molecule on the atmospheric reactions of aromatic compounds that have not been attended to comprehensively. In the first part, the atmospheric oxidation mechanisms of thiophene initiated by hydroperoxyl radical through a multiwell-multichannel potential energy surface were studied to have useful information about the chemistry of the considered reaction. It was verified that for the thiophene plus HO₂ reaction, the addition mechanism is dominant the same as other aromatic compounds. Due to the importance of the subject and the presence of water molecules in the atmosphere with a high concentration that we know as relative humidity, and also the lack of insight into the influence of water on the reactions of aromatic compounds with active atmospheric species, herein, the effect of a single water molecule on the addition pathways of the title reaction is evaluated. In another word, this research explores how water can change the occurrence of reactions of aromatic compounds in the atmosphere. For this, the presence of one water molecule is simulated by higher-level calculations (BD(T) method) through the main interactions with the stationary points of the most probable pathways. The results show that the mechanism of the reaction with water is more complicated than the bare reaction due to the formation of the ring-like structures. Also, water molecule decreases the relative energies of all addition pathways. Moreover, atoms in molecule theory (AIM) along with the kinetic study by the transition state (TST) and the Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus (RRKM) theories demonstrate that the overall interactions of a path determine how the rate of that path changes. In this regard, our results establish that the interactions of water with HO₂ (thiophene) in the initial complex 1WHA (1WTA or 1WTB) are stronger (weaker) than the sum of its interactions in transition states. Also, for the water-assisted pathways, the ratio of the partition function of the transition state to the partition functions of the reactants is similar to the respective bare reaction. Therefore, the reaction rates of the bare pathways are more than the water-assisted paths that include the 1WHA complex and are less than the paths that involve the 1WTA and 1WTB complexes.

Theoretical evaluation of different factors affecting the HO2 uptake coefficient driven by aqueous-phase first-order loss reaction

The heterogeneous loss on aerosols is an important sink of HO₂, affecting the radical chemistry and cycling, and thus it plays a key role in the atmospheric photochemistry. Gaining a reasonable HO₂ uptake coefficient (γ_HO2) would be of great importance in evaluating the heterogeneous loss rate of HO₂ on aerosols. This work was motivated by the large variance of reported HO₂ mass accommodation coefficients (α_HO2) in laboratory studies (0.1-1), which can cause consequent bias in the parameterized HO₂ uptake coefficient (γ_HO2). We conducted a theoretical analysis of the roles of several key factors or parameters in determining γ_HO2 on a sphere droplet with adjustable Cu²⁺ ion concentration including α_HO2, aqueous-phase acidity, the first-order loss-rate constant K^I value, and the aqueous phase production of HO₂. The results intuitively demonstrate that utilizing a single γ_HO2 value for aerosols of different sizes, compositions or hygroscopic states is unsafe in atmospheric models. The theoretical analysis indicated that for a single aerosol experiencing hygroscopic growth, γ_HO2 decreased with increasing aerosol size, because of the increased gas phase diffusion resistance and dilution of aqueous-phase HO₂ consuming ions. Aerosol pH and metal abundance influence γ_HO2 by determining the aqueous-phase loss-rate constants, and these two factors were found to be only predominant for large particles/droplets (R_p > 1 μm). For small and middle size aerosols, the mass accommodation process plays the determining role in controlling HO₂ uptake. Considering ambient aerosols rarely grow to cloud droplet size on sunny days when photochemical budget of HO₂ radicals is of more concern, it is crucial to adopt appropriate α_HO2 in models, as arbitrarily choosing the α_HO2 value can lead to large bias when simulating HO₂ heterogeneous process on ambient aerosols.

Molecular dynamics simulation of the local concentration and structure in multicomponent aerosol nanoparticles under atmospheric conditions

MD simulations predicted core–shell or partially engulfed morphologies (depending on the type of the organic compound present) in multicomponent aerosol nanoparticles.

Measurements of the HO2 uptake coefficients onto single component organic aerosols

Measurements of HO2 uptake coefficients (γ) were made onto a variety of organic aerosols derived from glutaric acid, glyoxal, malonic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, squalene, monoethanol amine sulfate, monomethyl amine sulfate, and two sources of humic acid, for an initial HO2 concentration of 1 × 10(9) molecules cm(-3), room temperature and at atmospheric pressure. Values in the range of γ < 0.004 to γ = 0.008 ± 0.004 were measured for all of the aerosols apart from the aerosols from the two sources of humic acid. For humic acid aerosols, uptake coefficients in the range of γ = 0.007 ± 0.002 to γ = 0.09 ± 0.03 were measured. Elevated concentrations of copper (16 ± 1 and 380 ± 20 ppb) and iron (600 ± 30 and 51 000 ± 3000 ppb) ions were measured in the humic acid atomizer solutions compared to the other organics that can explain the higher uptake values measured. A strong dependence upon relative humidity was also observed for uptake onto humic acid, with larger uptake coefficients seen at higher humidities. Possible hypotheses for the humidity dependence include the changing liquid water content of the aerosol, a change in the mass accommodation coefficient or in the Henry's law constant.

Effects of a single water molecule on the OH + H2O2 reaction

The effect of a single water molecule on the reaction between H(2)O(2) and HO has been investigated by employing MP2 and CCSD(T) theoretical approaches in connection with the aug-cc-PVDZ, aug-cc-PVTZ, and aug-cc-PVQZ basis sets and extrapolation to an ∞ basis set. The reaction without water has two elementary reaction paths that differ from each other in the orientation of the hydrogen atom of the hydroxyl radical moiety. Our computed rate constant, at 298 K, is 1.56 × 10(-12) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), in excellent agreement with the suggested value by the NASA/JPL evaluation. The influence of water vapor has been investigated by considering either that H(2)O(2) first forms a complex with water that reacts with hydroxyl radical or that H(2)O(2) reacts with a previously formed H(2)O·OH complex. With the addition of water, the reaction mechanism becomes much more complex, yielding four different reaction paths. Two pathways do not undergo the oxidation reaction but an exchange reaction where there is an interchange between H(2)O(2)·H(2)O and H(2)O·OH complexes. The other two pathways oxidize H(2)O(2), with a computed total rate constant of 4.09 × 10(-12) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) at 298 K, 2.6 times the value of the rate constant of the unassisted reaction. However, the true effect of water vapor requires taking into account the concentration of the prereactive bimolecular complex, namely, H(2)O(2)·H(2)O. With this consideration, water can actually slow down the oxidation of H(2)O(2) by OH between 1840 and 20.5 times in the 240-425 K temperature range. This is an example that demonstrates how water could be a catalyst in an atmospheric reaction in the laboratory but is slow under atmospheric conditions.

The structures of ozone and HOx radicals in aqueous solution from combined quantum/classical molecular dynamics simulations

Ozone in aqueous solution decomposes through a complex mechanism that involves initial reaction with a hydroxide ion followed by formation of a variety of oxidizing species such as HO, HO(2), and HO(3) radicals. Though a number of hydrogen-bonded complexes have been described in the gas phase, both theoretically and experimentally, the structures of ozone and HO(x) in liquid water remain uncertain. In this work, combined quantum/classical computer simulations of aqueous solutions of these species have been reported. The results show that ozone undergoes noticeable electron polarization but it does not participate in hydrogen bonds with liquid water. The main contribution of the solvation energy comes from dispersion forces. In contrast, HO(x) radicals form strong hydrogen bonds. They are better proton donors but weaker proton acceptors than water. Their electronic and geometrical structures are significantly modified by the solvent, especially in the case of HO(3). In all cases, fluctuations in amplitudes of electronic properties are considerable, suggesting that solvent effects might play a crucial role on oxidation mechanisms initiated by ozone in liquid water. These mechanisms are important in a broad range of domains, such as atmospheric processes, plant response to ambient ozone, and medical and industrial applications.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Atmospheric Oxidants at the Air−Water Interface: Solvation and Accommodation of OH and O3

A comparative study of OH, O3, and H2O equilibrium aqueous solvation and gas-phase accommodation on liquid water at 300 K is performed using a combination of ab initio calculations and molecular dynamics simulations. Polarizable force fields are developed for the interaction potential of OH and O3 with water. The free energy profiles for transfer of OH and O3 from the gas phase to the bulk liquid exhibit a pronounced minimum at the surface, but no barrier to solvation in the bulk liquid. The calculated surface excess of each oxidant is comparable to calculated and experimental values for short chain, aliphatic alcohols. Driving forces for the surface activity are discussed in terms of the radial distribution functions and dipole orientation distributions for each molecule in the bulk liquid and at the surface. Simulations of OH, O3, and H2O impinging on liquid water with a thermal impact velocity are used to calculate thermal accommodation (S) and mass accommodation (alpha) coefficients. The values of S for OH, O3, and H2O are 0.95, 0.90, and 0.99, respectively. The approaching molecules are accelerated toward the liquid surface when they are approximately 5 angstroms above it. The molecules that reach thermal equilibrium with the surface do so within 2 ps of striking the surface, while those that do not scatter into the gas phase with excess translational kinetic energy in the direction perpendicular to the surface. The time constants for absorption and desorption range from approximately 35 to 140 ps, and the values of alpha for OH, O3, and H2O are 0.83, 0.047, and 0.99, respectively. The results are consistent with previous formulations of gas-phase accommodation from simulations, in which the process occurs by rapid thermal and structural equilibration followed by diffusion on the free energy profile. The implications of these results with respect to atmospheric chemistry are discussed.