Neural network potential energy surface for the low temperature ring polymer molecular dynamics of the H2CO + OH reaction

Quantum study of the CH3+ photodissociation in full-dimensional neural network potential energy surfaces

C H 3 + , a cornerstone intermediate in interstellar chemistry, has recently been detected for the first time by using the James Webb Space Telescope. The photodissociation of this ion is studied here. Accurate explicitly correlated multi-reference configuration interaction ab initio calculations are done, and full-dimensional potential energy surfaces are developed for the three lower electronic states, with a fundamental invariant neural network method. The photodissociation cross section is calculated using a full-dimensional quantum wave packet method in heliocentric Radau coordinates. The wave packet is represented in angular and radial grids, allowing us to reduce the number of points physically accessible, requiring to push up the spurious states appearing when evaluating the angular kinetic terms, through projection technique. The photodissociation spectra, when employed in astrochemical models to simulate the conditions of the Orion bar, result in a lesser destruction of CH3+ compared to that obtained when utilizing the recommended values in the kinetic database for astrochemistry.

Dynamics study of the post-transition-state-bifurcation process of the (HCOOH)H+ → CO + H3O+/HCO+ + H2O dissociation: application of machine-learning techniques

The process of protonated formic acid dissociating from the transition state was studied using ring-polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD), classical MD, and quasi-classical trajectory (QCT) simulations. Temperature had a strong influence on the branching fractions for the HCO⁺ + H₂O and CO + H₃O⁺ dissociation channels. The RPMD and classical MD simulations showed similar behavior, but the QCT dynamics were significantly different owing to the excess energies in the quasi-classical trajectories. Machine-learning analysis identified several key features in the phase information of the vibrational motions at the transition state. We found that the initial configuration and momentum of a hydrogen atom connected to a carbon atom and the shrinking coordinate of the CO bond at the transition state play a role in the dynamics of HCO⁺ + H₂O production.

An efficient algorithm for capturing quantum effects in classical reactive scattering: application to D + H+3 → H2D+ + H

Motivated by a recent semiclassical analysis of chemical reaction thresholds [Bonnet et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2022, 157, 094114], we present an efficient algorithm for including zero-point energy (ZPE) effects in classical reactive scattering. The algorithm is an extension of the quasi-classical trajectory (QCT) Gaussian binning method. We apply it to the astrophysically important D + H+3 reaction, where there are significant quantum effects and where application of other methods is problematic [Braunstein et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2022, 24, 5489]. The rate constants computed with the new, general algorithm closely match recent Ring Polymer Molecular Dynamics (RPMD) [Bulut et al., J. Phys. Chem. A, 2019, 123, 8766] and experimentally derived [Bowen et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2021, 154, 084307] ones spanning ∼4 orders of magnitude from 70 to 1500 K.

Capturing quantum effects with quasi-classical trajectories in the D + H+3 → H2D+ + H reaction

We present quasi-classical trajectory (QCT) cross sections, rate constants, and product state distributions for the D + H+3 → H₂D⁺ + H reaction. Using the same H+4 potential surface, the rate constants obtained from several QCT-based methods correcting for zero-point effects by Gaussian binning the product H₂D⁺ are compared to ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) rate constants [Bulut et al., J. Phys. Chem. A, 2019, 123, 8766] which include quantum effects and to recent experimentally derived rate constants [Bowen et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2021, 154, 084307]. QCT with standard binning predicts rate constants that increase slowly as the temperature decreases from 1500 to 100 K. In contrast, the RPMD rate constants decrease rapidly with decreasing temperature. By 100 K, the QCT standard binning rate constant is more than 3 orders of magnitude larger than the RPMD rate constant. We show that QCT with Gaussian binning and proper normalization captures the zero-point effects and reproduces the RPMD rate constants over a large temperature range. Furthermore, the simple technique of counting only reactive trajectories with vibrational energy above the product zero-point energy matches the RPMD results well down to ∼300 K. The present Gaussian binned rate constants are in fair agreement with new experimentally derived rate constants from 100 to 1500 K. However, because the Gaussian binned rate constants do not include tunneling, important at lower temperatures, and the RPMD and experimentally derived rate constants have significant differences, the roles of the competing effects of zero-point energy, internal excitation of the H+3, and quantum tunneling are not simple and require further study for a consistent picture of the dynamics. Since rate constants for complex forming reactions, such as the title reaction, are difficult to converge with RPMD, alternative QCT-based methods, which include quantum effects and in addition provide product state distributions as described here, are highly desirable.

Energy- and Local-Gradient-Based Neural Network Method for Accurately Describing Long-Range Interaction: Application to the H2 + CO+ Reaction

The long-range interaction plays an important role in theoretically describing ion-molecule reaction. However, most energy-based neural network fitting methods usually introduce spurious long-range interactions. In this work, we propose an energy- and local-gradient-based neural network (ELGNN) method to fit potential energy surfaces (PESs). K-means clustering is employed to divide the whole configuration space into three regions: reactant asymptotic region, interaction region, and product asymptotic region. In the interaction region, only the energies of sampled points are computed, while in the asymptotic regions, the gradients of partially sampled configurations are calculated as well, and both the energies and energy gradients (if necessary) are used to fit long-range interactions. These regions are joined together by switching functions. The ELGNN method is first applied to fit the PES of the H₂ + CO⁺ reaction, which has significant long-range interactions. It is found that the ELGNN method works better than the energy-based NN method in describing long-range interactions. The dynamics and kinetics of the reaction are then investigated on the new PES.

Master Equation Study of Hydrogen Abstraction from HCHO by OH Via a Chemically Activated Intermediate

The abstraction reaction of hydrogen from formaldehyde by OH radical plays an important role in formaldehyde oxidation. The reaction involves a bimolecular association to form a chemically activated hydrogen-bonded reaction...

Strong non-Arrhenius behavior at low temperatures in the OH + HCl → H2O + Cl reaction due to resonance induced quantum tunneling

The OH + HCl reaction possesses many Feshbach resonances trapped in the hydrogen bond well in the entrance channel, which substantially enhance the reaction rates at low temperatures.

Ring-Polymer Molecular Dynamics Calculations of Thermal Rate Coefficients and Branching Ratios for the Interstellar H3+ + CO → H2 + HCO+/HOC+ Reaction and Its Deuterated Analogue

The reaction between H₃⁺ and CO is important in understanding the H₃⁺ destruction mechanism in the interstellar medium. In this work, thermal rate coefficients for the H₃⁺ + CO and D₃⁺ + CO reactions are calculated using ring-polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) on a high-level machine-learning potential energy surface. The RPMD results agree well with the classical molecular dynamics results, where nuclear quantum effects are completely ignored, whereas the agreement between the RPMD results and the previous quasi-classical trajectory is good only at low temperatures. The calculated [HCO⁺]/[HOC⁺] product branching ratios decrease as the temperature increases, and the product branching is exclusively determined by the initial collisional orientation, which governs the formation of an ion-dipole complex, H₃⁺···CO or H₃⁺···OC, that dissociates into H₂ + HCO⁺ or H₂ + HOC⁺, respectively, via a direct mechanism. However, the contribution of the indirect mechanism via the rearrangement between H₃⁺···CO and H₃⁺···OC increases as the temperature increases, although its absolute fraction is small.

Study on the kinetics and dynamics of the H2 + NH2- reaction on a high-level ab initio potential energy surface

Gas-phase ion-molecule reactions play major roles in many fields of chemistry and physics. The reaction of an amino radical anion with a hydrogen molecule is one of the simplest proton transfer reactions involving anions. A globally accurate full-dimensional potential energy surface (PES) for the NH₂^- + H₂ reaction is developed by the fundamental invariant-neural network method, resulting in a root mean square error of 0.116 kcal mol^-1. Quasi-classical trajectory calculations are then carried out on the newly developed PES to give integral cross sections, differential cross sections and thermal rate coefficients. This reaction has two reaction channels, proton transfer and hydrogen exchange. The reactivity of the proton transfer channel is about one or two orders of magnitude stronger than that of the hydrogen exchange channel in the energy range studied. Vibrational excitation of H₂ promotes the proton transfer reaction, while fundamental excitation of each vibrational mode of NH₂^- has a negligible effect. In addition, the theoretical rate coefficients of the proton transfer reaction on the PES show inverse temperature dependence from 150 to 750 K, in accordance with the available experimental results.