Dynamics of the reactions of O(1D) with CD3OH and CH3OD studied with time-resolved Fourier-transform IR spectroscopy

Kinetic Study of the Gas-Phase O(1D) + CH3OH and O(1D) + CH3CN Reactions: Low-Temperature Rate Constants and Atomic Hydrogen Product Yields

Atomic oxygen in its first excited singlet state, O(¹D), is an important species in the photochemistry of several planetary atmospheres and has been predicted to be a potentially important reactive species on interstellar ices. Here, we report the results of a kinetic study of the reactions of O(¹D) with methanol, CH₃OH, and acetonitrile, CH₃CN, over the 50-296 K temperature range. A continuous supersonic flow reactor is used to attain these low temperatures coupled with pulsed laser photolysis and pulsed laser-induced fluorescence to generate and monitor O(¹D) atoms, respectively. Secondary experiments examining the atomic hydrogen product channels of these reactions are also performed, through laser-induced fluorescence measurements of H(²S) atom formation. On the kinetic side, the rate constants for these reactions are seen to be large (>2 × 10^-10 cm³ s^-1) and consistent with barrierless reactions, although they display contrasting dependences as a function of temperature. On the product formation side, both reactions are seen to yield non-negligible quantities of atomic hydrogen. For the O(¹D) + CH₃OH reaction, the derived yields are in good agreement with the conclusions of previous experimental and theoretical works. For the O(¹D) + CH₃CN reaction, whose H-atom formation channels had not previously been investigated, electronic structure calculations of several new product formation channels are performed to explain the observed H-atom yields. These calculations demonstrate the barrierless and exothermic nature of the relevant exit channels, confirming that atomic hydrogen is also an important product of the O(¹D) + CH₃CN reaction.

Synthesis of methanediol [CH2(OH)2]: The simplest geminal diol

Methanediol [CH₂(OH)₂] represents a pivotal atmospheric volatile organic compound and plays a fundamental role in aerosol growth. Although sought for decades, methanediol has never been identified due to the inherent dehydration tendency of two adjacent hydroxyl groups (OH) at the same carbon atom. Here, we prepare and identify methanediol via processing of low-temperature ices followed by sublimation into the gas phase. These findings open up a concept to synthesize and characterize unstable geminal diols—critical organic transients in Earth’s atmosphere. The excited state dynamics of oxygen may also lead to methanediol in methanol-rich interstellar ices in cold molecular clouds, followed by sublimation in star-forming regions and prospective detection of these reactive intermediates in the gas phase by radiotelescopes.

Geminal diols—organic molecules carrying two hydroxyl groups at the same carbon atom—have been recognized as key reactive intermediates by the physical (organic) chemistry and atmospheric science communities as fundamental transients in the aerosol cycle and in the atmospheric ozonolysis reaction sequence. Anticipating short lifetimes and their tendency to fragment to water plus the aldehyde or ketone, free geminal diols represent one of the most elusive classes of organic reactive intermediates. Here, we afford an exceptional glance into the preparation of the previously elusive methanediol [CH₂(OH)₂] transient—the simplest geminal diol—via energetic processing of low-temperature methanol–oxygen ices. Methanediol was identified in the gas phase upon sublimation via isomer-selective photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry combined with isotopic substitution studies. Electronic structure calculations reveal that methanediol is formed via excited state dynamics through insertion of electronically excited atomic oxygen into a carbon–hydrogen bond of the methyl group of methanol followed by stabilization in the icy matrix. The first preparation and detection of methanediol demonstrates its gas-phase stability as supported by a significant barrier hindering unimolecular decomposition to formaldehyde and water. These findings advance our perception of the fundamental chemistry and chemical bonding of geminal diols and signify their role as an efficient sink of aldehydes and ketones in atmospheric environments eventually coupling the atmospheric chemistry of geminal diols and Criegee intermediates.

Dynamics of Reaction CH3CHI + O2 Investigated via Infrared Emission of Products CO, CO2, and OH

The reaction CH₃CHI + O₂ has been commonly employed in laboratories to produce a methyl-substituted Criegee intermediate CH₃CHOO, but the detailed dynamics of this reaction remain unexplored. We carried out this reaction by irradiating a flowing mixture of CH₃CHI₂ (∼70 mTorr) and O₂ (∼4 and 8 Torr) at 308 or 248 nm and observed infrared emission of the products with a step-scan Fourier-transform spectrometer. Upon irradiation at 248 nm with O₂ ∼4 Torr, a Boltzmann distribution of CO (v ≤ 4, J ≤ 25) with average vibrational energy (12 ± 2) kJ mol^-1 and of OH (v = 1, J ≤ 5.5) were observed and assigned to be produced from the decomposition of CH₃C(O)OH* to form CO + CH₃OH and OH + CH₃CO, respectively. The observed broadband emission of CO₂ was simulated with two vibrational distributions of average energies (42 ± 3) and (114 ± 6) kJ mol^-1 and assigned to be produced from the decomposition of CH₃C(O)OH* and (methyl dioxirane)*, respectively. The results upon irradiation of the sample at 308 nm are similar, likely indicating a small fraction of energy partition into these products and rapid thermalization of CH₃CHI*. Compared with reaction CH₂I + O₂, the title reaction yielded products with much less internal excitation, consistent with the expectation that these observed products receive much less fraction of available energy upon fragmentation when an additional methyl moiety was present in the parent. The large-v component of CO observed in experiments of CH₂I + O₂ at 248 nm, produced from secondary reaction HCO + O₂, was absent in this work because the corresponding secondary reaction CH₃CO + O₂ in decomposition of CH₃CHOO* produces α-lactone + OH or H₂CO + CO + OH.

Dynamics of the reaction CH2I + O2 probed via infrared emission of CO, CO2, OH and H2CO

The reaction CH2I + O2 has been widely employed recently for the production of the simplest Criegee intermediate CH2OO in laboratories, but the detailed dynamics of this reaction have been little explored. Infrared emission of several products of this reaction, initiated on irradiation of CH2I2 and O2 (∼8 Torr) in a flowing mixture at 308 or 248 nm, was recorded with a step-scan Fourier-transform spectrometer; possible routes of formation were identified according to the observed vibrational distribution of products and published theoretical potential-energy schemes. Upon irradiation at 308 nm, Boltzmann distributions of CO (v ≤ 5, J ≤ 19) with an average vibrational energy of 32 ± 3 kJ mol-1 and OH (v ≤ 3, J ≤ 5.5) with an average vibrational energy of 29 ± 4 kJ mol-1 were observed and assigned to the decomposition of HCOOH* to form CO + H2O and OH + HCO, respectively. The broadband emission of CO2 was simulated with two vibrational distributions of average energies (91 ± 4) and (147 ± 8) kJ mol-1 and assigned to be produced from the decomposition of HCOOH* and methylene bis(oxy), respectively. Upon irradiation of samples at 248 nm, the emission of OH and CO2 showed similar distributions with slightly greater energies, but the distribution of CO (v ≤ 11, J ≤ 19) became bimodal with average vibrational energies of (23 ± 4) and (107 ± 29) kJ mol-1, and branching (56 ± 5) : (44 ± 5). The additional large-v component is assigned to be produced from a secondary reaction HCO + O2 to form CO + HO2; HCO is a coproduct of OH. The branching between CO and OH is (50 ± 5) : (50 ± 5) at 308 nm and (64 ± 5) : (36 ± 4) at 248 nm, consistent with the mechanism according to which an additional channel to produce CO opens at 248 nm. Highly internally excited H2CO was also observed. With O2 at 16 Torr, the extrapolated nascent internal distributions are similar to those with O2 at 8 Torr except for a slight quenching effect.

Theoretical Investigations on the Possibility of Prebiotic HCN Formation via O-Addition Reactions

Until now, reactions between methane photolysis products (CH₃^•, CH₂) and active N atom or reactive NO radical are proposed as routes of HCN formation in the prebiotic Earth. Scientists think that the reducing atmosphere of primitive Earth was made of H₂, He, N₂, NO, CH₄, H₂O, CO₂, etc., and there was no molecular oxygen. However, it has been evident from experiments that the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photolysis of CO₂ can produce atomic oxygen. Therefore, it can be presumed that atomic oxygen was likely present in early Earth's atmosphere. Was there any impact of atomic oxygen in production of early atmospheric HCN for the emergence of life? To hunt for the answer, we have employed computational methods to study the mechanism and kinetics of CH₃NO + O(¹D) and CH₂NO^• + O(³P) addition reactions. Current study suggests that the addition of O(¹D) into nitrosomethane (CH₃NO) and the addition of O(³P) into nitrosomethylene radical (CH₂NO^•) can efficiently produce HCN through an effectively barrierless pathway. At STP, Bartis-Widom phenomenological loss rate coefficients of O(¹D) and O(³P) are obtained as 2.47 × 10^-12 and 4.67 × 10^-11 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1, respectively. We propose that addition reactions of atomic oxygen with CH₃NO and CH₂NO^• might act as a potential source for early atmospheric HCN.

Important features of the potential energy surface of the methylamine plus O(1D) reaction

This research presents an ab initio characterization of the potential energy surface for the methylamine plus ¹D oxygen atom reaction, which may be relevant to interstellar chemistry. Geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies were determined for all stationary points at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. The focal point method along with several additive corrections was used to obtain reliable CCSDT(Q)/CBS potential energy surface features. Extensive conformational analysis and intrinsic reaction coordinate computations were performed to ensure accurate chemical connectivity of the stationary points. Five minima were determined to be possible products of this reaction and three novel transition states were found that were previously unreported or mislabeled in the literature. The pathways we present can be used to guide further searches for NH₂ containing species in the interstellar medium.

Photoelectron spectroscopy of the hydroxymethoxide anion, H2C(OH)O. J Chem Phys 2016;145:124317. [PMID: 27782682 DOI: 10.1063/1.4963225]

We report the negative ion photoelectron spectroscopy of the hydroxymethoxide anion, H₂C(OH)O^-. The photoelectron spectra show that 3.49 eV photodetachment produces two distinct electronic states of the neutral hydroxymethoxy radical (H₂C(OH)O^⋅). The H₂C(OH)O^⋅ ground state (X̃ ²A) photoelectron spectrum exhibits a vibrational progression consisting primarily of the OCO symmetric and asymmetric stretches, the OCO bend, as well as combination bands involving these modes with other, lower frequency modes. A high-resolution photoelectron spectrum aids in the assignment of several vibrational frequencies of the neutral H₂C(OH)O^⋅ radical, including an experimental determination of the H₂C(OH)O^⋅ 2ν₁₂ overtone of the H-OCO torsional vibration as 220(10) cm^-1. The electron affinity of H₂C(OH)O^⋅ is determined to be 2.220(2) eV. The low-lying à ²A excited state is also observed, with a spectrum that peaks ∼0.8 eV above the X̃ ²A state origin. The à ²A state photoelectron spectrum is a broad, partially resolved band. Quantum chemical calculations and photoelectron simulations aid in the interpretation of the photoelectron spectra. In addition, the gas phase acidity of methanediol is calculated to be 366(2) kcal mol^-1, which results in an OH bond dissociation energy, D₀(H₂C(OH)O-H), of 104(2) kcal mol^-1, using the experimentally determined electron affinity of the hydroxymethoxy radical.

Reaction dynamics of O(¹D) + HCOOD/DCOOH investigated with time-resolved Fourier-transform infrared emission spectroscopy

We investigated the reaction dynamics of O((1)D) towards hydrogen atoms of two types in HCOOH. The reaction was initiated on irradiation of a flowing mixture of O3 and HCOOD or DCOOH at 248 nm. The relative vibration-rotational populations of OH and OD (1 ≦ v ≦ 4, J ≤ 15) states were determined from time-resolved IR emission recorded with a step-scan Fourier-transform spectrometer. In the reaction of O((1)D) + HCOOD, the rotational distribution of product OH is nearly Boltzmann, whereas that of OD is bimodal. The product ratio [OH]/[OD] is 0.16 ± 0.05. In the reaction of O((1)D) + DCOOH, the rotational distribution of product OH is bimodal, but the observed OD lines are too weak to provide reliable intensities. The three observed OH/OD channels agree with three major channels of production predicted with quantum-chemical calculations. In the case of O((1)D) + HCOOD, two intermediates HOC(O)OD and HC(O)OOD are produced in the initial C-H and O-D insertion, respectively. The former undergoes further decomposition of the newly formed OH or the original OD, whereas the latter produces OD via direct decomposition. Decomposition of HOC(O)OD produced OH and OD with similar vibrational excitation, indicating efficient intramolecular vibrational relaxation, IVR. Decomposition of HC(O)OOD produced OD with greater rotational excitation. The predicted [OH]/[OD] ratio is 0.20 for O((1)D) + HCOOD and 4.08 for O((1)D) + DCOOH; the former agrees satisfactorily with experiments. We also observed the v3 emission from the product CO2. This emission band is deconvoluted into two components corresponding to internal energies E = 317 and 96 kJ mol(-1) of CO2, predicted to be produced via direct dehydration of HOC(O)OH and secondary decomposition of HC(O)O that was produced via decomposition of HC(O)OOH, respectively.