Rotational excitation of HDO and D2O by H2: experimental and theoretical differential cross-sections

Scattering resonances in the rotational excitation of HDO by Ne and normal-H2: theory and experiment

The rotational excitation of a singly deuterated water molecule (HDO) by a heavy atom (Ne) and a light diatomic molecule (H2) is investigated theoretically and experimentally in the near-threshold regime. Crossed-molecular-beam measurements with a variable crossing angle are compared to close-coupling calculations based on high-accuracy potential energy surfaces. The two lowest rotational transitions, 000 → 101 and 000 → 111, are probed in detail and a good agreement between theory and experiment is observed for both transitions in the case of HDO + Ne, where scattering resonances are however blurred out experimentally. In the case of HDO + H2, the predicted theoretical overlapping resonances are faithfully reproduced by experiment for the 000 → 111 transition, while the calculated strong signal for the 000 → 101 transition is not detected. Future work is needed to reconcile this discrepancy.

A New Full-Dimensional Ab Initio Intermolecular Potential Energy Surface and Rovibrational Energies of the H2O-H2 Complex

H2O-H2 is a prototypical five-atom van der Waals system, and the interaction between H2O and H2 plays an important role in many physical and chemical environments. However, previous full-dimensional intermolecular potential energy surfaces (IPESs) cannot accurately describe the H2O-H2 interaction in the repulsive or van der Waals minimum region. In this work, we constructed a full-dimensional IPES for the title system with a small root-mean-square error of 0.252 cm-1 by using the permutation invariant polynomial neural network method. The ab initio calculations were performed by employing the explicitly corrected coupled cluster [CCSD(T)-F12a] method with the augmented correlation-consistent polarized valence quintuple-ζ basis set. Based on the newly developed IPES, the bound states of the H2O-H2 complex were calculated within the rigid-rotor approximation. The transition frequencies and band origins agreed well with the experimental values [Weida, M. J.; Nesbitt, D. J. J. Chem. Phys. 1999, 110, 156-167] with errors less than 0.1 cm-1 for most transitions. Those results demonstrate the high accuracy of our new IPES, which would build a solid foundation for the collisional dynamics of H2O-H2 at low temperatures.

Spiers Memorial Lecture: Astrochemistry at high resolution

Astrochemistry is the science that studies the chemistry in the Universe, namely the combination of two fields: astronomy and chemistry. It started about fifty years ago and it has progressed in leaps and bounds, often triggered by the advent of new telescopes. From the collection of new interstellar molecule detections, astrochemistry has evolved more and more in the quest to understand how they are formed and thrive in the harsh conditions of the interstellar medium. Collaboration between astronomers and chemists has never been more necessary than today, when new powerful astronomical facilities provide us with ever sharper images of the regions where interstellar molecules are present. This review focuses on the special case of interstellar complex organic molecules (iCOMs), one the most debated astrochemical fields and where the astronomers-chemists collaboration and synergy is indispensable. The review will go through the various phases of the formation of planetary system similar to the solar system, providing the most recent observational picture at each step. The current scenarios of the iCOMs formation will be laid down and the critical chemical processes and quantities involved in each of them will be discussed. The major goal of this review is not only to present the progress but, more importantly, to highlight the many areas of uncertainty. A few specific cases will be discussed to give practical examples of why the huge challenge that represents the formation of iCOMs can only be won if chemists and astronomers work together.

Near-Threshold and Resonance Effects in Rotationally Inelastic Scattering of D2O with Normal-H2

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study on the rotationally inelastic scattering of heavy water, D2O, with normal-H2. Crossed-molecular beam measurements are performed in the collision energy range between 10 and 100 cm-1, corresponding to the near-threshold regime in which scattering resonances are most pronounced. State-to-state excitation cross-sections are obtained by probing three low-lying rotational levels of D2O using the REMPI technique. These measurements are complemented by quantum close-coupling scattering calculations based on a high-accuracy D2O-H2 interaction potential. The agreement between experiment and theory is within the experimental error bars at 95% confidence intervals, leading to a relative difference of less than 7%: the near-threshold rise and the overall shape of the cross-sections, including small undulations due to resonances, are nicely reproduced by the calculations. Isotopic effects (D2O versus H2O) are also discussed by comparing the shape and magnitude of the respective cross-sections.

Probing Low-Energy Resonances in Water-Hydrogen Inelastic Collisions

Molecular scattering at collisional energies of the order of 10-100  cm^{-1} (corresponding to kinetic temperatures in the 15-150 K range) provides insight into the details of the scattering process and, in particular, of the various resonances that appear in inelastic cross sections. In this Letter, we present a detailed experimental and theoretical study of the rotationally inelastic scattering of ground-state ortho-D_{2}O by ground-state para-H_{2} in the threshold region of the D_{2}O(0_{00}→2_{02}) transition at 35.9  cm^{-1}. The measurements were performed with a molecular crossed beam apparatus with variable collision angle, thence with variable collisional energy. Calculations were carried out with the coupled-channel method combined with a dedicated high-level D_{2}O-H_{2} intermolecular potential. Our theoretical cross section 0_{00}→2_{02} is found to display several resonance peaks in perfect agreement with the experimental work, in their absolute positions and relative intensities. We show that those peaks are mostly due to shape resonances, characterized here for the first time for a polyatomic molecule colliding with a diatom.

Direct observation of product-pair correlations in rotationally inelastic collisions of ND3 with D2

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of state-to-state inelastic scattering of ND₃(j = 1₁^-) with D₂ (j = 0, 1, 2, 3) molecules at collision energies around 800 cm^-1. Using a crossed molecular beam apparatus which employs the combination of Stark deceleration and velocity map imaging, we observe the correlated rotational excitations of both collision partners. For D₂, both elastic (Δj_D2 = 0), inelastic excitation (j = 0 →j = 2) and inelastic de-excitation (j = 2 →j = 0) processes are observed. For a number of final ND₃ states, inelastic channels in which D₂ is rotationally excited or de-excited appear surprisingly strong. The experimental results are in excellent agreement with the predictions from quantum scattering calculations which are based on an ab initio ND₃-D₂ potential energy surface.

Assessment of Two Problems of Specific Reaction Parameter Density Functional Theory: Sticking and Diffraction of H2 on Pt(111)

It is important that theory is able to accurately describe dissociative chemisorption reactions on metal surfaces, as such reactions are often rate-controlling in heterogeneously catalyzed processes. Chemically accurate theoretical descriptions have recently been obtained on the basis of the specific reaction parameter (SRP) approach to density functional (DF) theory (DFT), allowing reaction barriers to be obtained with chemical accuracy. However, being semiempirical, this approach suffers from two basic problems. The first is that sticking probabilities (to which SRP density functionals (DFs) are usually fitted) might show differences across experiments, of which the origins are not always clear. The second is that it has proven hard to use experiments on diffractive scattering of H₂ from metals for validation purposes, as dynamics calculations using a SRP-DF may yield a rather poor description of the measured data, especially if the potential used contains a van der Waals well. We address the first problem by performing dynamics calculations on three sets of molecular beam experiments on D₂ + Pt(111), using four sets of molecular beam parameters to obtain sticking probabilities, and the SRP-DF recently fitted to one set of experiments on D₂ + Pt(111). It is possible to reproduce all three sets of experiments with chemical accuracy with the aid of two sets of molecular beam parameters. The theoretical simulations with the four different sets of beam parameters allow one to determine for which range of incidence conditions the experiments should agree well and for which conditions they should show specific differences. This allows one to arrive at conclusions about the quality of the experiments and about problems that might affect the experiments. Our calculations on diffraction of H₂ scattering from Pt(111) show both quantitative and qualitative differences with previously measured diffraction probabilities, which were Debye-Waller (DW)-extrapolated to 0 K. We suggest that DW extrapolation, which is appropriate for direct scattering, might fail if the scattering is affected by the presence of a van der Waals well and that theory should attempt to model surface atom motion for reproducing diffraction experiments performed for surface temperatures of 500 K and higher.

Collision energy dependence of state-to-state differential cross sections for rotationally inelastic scattering of H2O by He

The inelastic scattering of H₂O by He as a function of collision energy in the range 381 cm^-1 to 763 cm^-1 at an energy interval of approximately 100 cm^-1 has been investigated in a crossed beam experiment using velocity map imaging. Change in collision energy was achieved by varying the collision angle between the H₂O and He beam. We measured the state-to-state differential cross section (DCS) of scattered H₂O products for the final rotational states J_KaKc = 1₁₀, 1₁₁, 2₂₁ and 4₁₄. Rotational excitation of H₂O is probed by (2 + 1) resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy. DCS measurements over a wide range of collision energies allowed us to probe the H₂O-He potential energy surface (PES) with greater detail than in previous work. We found that a classical approximation of rotational rainbows can predict the collision energy dependence of the DCS. Close-coupling quantum mechanical calculations were used to produce DCS and partial cross sections. The forward-backward ratio (FBR), is introduced here to compare the experimental and theoretical DCS. Both theory and experiments suggest that an increase in the collision energy is accompanied with more forward scattering.

The modified quasi-quantum treatment of rotationally inelastic NO(X)-He scattering

A modified quasi-quantum treatment (MQQT) of molecular scattering has been developed to account for the softness of the repulsive part of the anisotropic atom-molecule PES. A contour of the PES is chosen such that the barrier height is just large enough to reflect the incoming kinetic energy, directed anti-parallel to the hard shell normal at the site of impact. The resulting rotationally inelastic quantum state resolved DCSs and ICSs of He + NO(X) at Ecol = 508 cm(-1) are compared to those obtained from regular QQT and from quantum mechanically exact calculations performed on the full highest quality ab initio Vsum PES. The MQQT parity changing DCSs for Δj ≤ 4 exhibit much better agreement with the QM DCSs than is obtained using regular QQT, particularly in the forward scattered direction. The improvements upon the remaining MQQT DCSs with respect to the regular QQT were minor, due to the near incompressible hard shell character of the n ≠ 1 or 3 anisotropic Legendre polynomial terms of the PES.