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We show in this paper a time-dependent (TD) quantum wave packet calculation for the combustion reaction H+O2 using the DMBE IV (double many-body expansion) potential energy surface which has a deep well and supports long-lived resonances. The reaction probabilities from the initial states of H+O2(3Σ-g) (v=0–3, j=1) for total angular momentum J=0 are obtained for scattering energies from threshold up to 2.5 eV, which show numerous resonance features. Our results show that, by carrying out the wave packet propagation to several picoseconds, one can resolve essentially all the resonance features for this reaction. The present TD results are in good agreement with other time-independent calculations. A particular advantage of the time-dependent approach to this reaction is that resonance structures—strong energy dependence of the reaction probability—can be mapped out in a single wave packet propagation without having to repeat scattering calculations for hundreds of energies. We also report calculations of some low-lying vibrational energies of the hydroperoxyl radical HO2(2A‘) and their spectroscopic assignments. The vibrational frequencies of HO2(2A‘) on the DMBE IV potential energy surface are lower than experimental values, indicating the need to further improve the accuracy of the potential energy surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical analysis of the hydrogen-terminated (100) surface of silicon leads to the identification of a new configuration, formed by a silylene center interacting with vicinal silicon dihydrides. This structure may be viewed as a metastable configuration of 2×1 (100) (SiH)2. Silylene can however be stabilized via interaction with water. The paper proposes that some of the anomalous features observed at the hydrogen-terminated or oxidized (100) Si can be attributed to silylene centers datively stabilized by oxo groups or to structures resulting from their decomposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On a new potential energy surface (PES-2008) developed by our group (preceding paper), we performed an extensive kinetics study using variational transition-state theory with semiclassical transmission coefficients over a wide temperature range of 250–2000 K and a dynamics study using quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) and quantum-mechanical (QM) calculations at collision energies between 0.7 and 2.0 eV for the title reaction and isotopically substituted versions. Kinetically, the H+CH4 forward and reverse thermal rate constants reproduce the available experimental data, with a small curvature of the Arrhenius plot indicating the role of tunneling in this hydrogen abstraction reaction. Five sets of kinetic isotope effects are also calculated. In general, they reproduce the experimental information. Dynamically, we focused on the H+CD4 reaction because there are more experimental studies for comparison. Most of the available energy appears as product translational energy (55%–68%), with the HD product being vibrationally cold (v′=0,1) in agreement with experiment, although rotationally hotter than experiment. The reaction cross section is practically negligible at 0.7 eV and still small at 1.5 eV, reproducing the experimental evidence, although our values are smaller. The product angular distribution is analyzed using QCT and QM methods. While at low energies (0.7 eV) both the QCT and the QM calculations yield forward scattered CD3 product, i.e., a rebound mechanism, at high energy (1.2 eV) only the QM calculations reproduce the experiment. The agreement with this wide variety of kinetic and dynamic experimental data (always qualitative and in some cases quantitative) shows the capacity of the PES-2008 surface to describe the reaction system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrogen [1,3]-sigmatropic shift in propene is predicted by the Woodward–Hoffman rules to occur by an antarafacial pathway, yet the lack of experimental evidence suggests that this pathway is not favorable. Two natural questions arise: (i) can the [1,3]-shift be made more favorable by a symmetry-forbidden multistep pathway, and (ii) can the energetics be influenced by a substituent on propene? As in many chemical reactions, describing the energetics of these reactions requires a balanced treatment of both single-reference and multireference electron correlations, and yet traditional wave function methods often excel in treating only one kind of correlation. An equitable description of correlation effects, however, can be achieved, at a cost similar to efficient single-reference methods, by computing the two-electron reduced density matrix (2-RDM) from the anti-Hermitian part of the contracted Schrödinger equation (ACSE) [D. A. Mazziotti, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 143002 (2006)]. As with the contracted Schrödinger equation, the indeterminacy of the ACSE is removed without the many-electron wave function by reconstructing the 3-RDM from the 2-RDM via cumulant theory [D. A. Mazziotti, Chem. Phys. Lett. 289, 419 (1998)]. In this paper we apply the ACSE to study sigmatropic shifts in both propene and acetone enolate while extending its formalism to treat doublet spin states. In the 6-311G** basis set the ACSE predicts the activation energy of the trimethylene-to-propene rearrangement to be 8.8 kcal/mol while multireference perturbation theory yields a smaller barrier of 2.2 kcal/mol and coupled cluster singles-doubles predicts a negative barrier. We further find that the [1,3]-shift in acetone enolate is more favorable by ≈30 kcal/mol than the [1,3]-shift in propene, which is consistent with a prior theoretical investigation as well as experimental observations of these shifts in 2-butanone enolate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a perturbation-theory study of vibrational lifetimes for the bending and stretching modes of hydrogen adsorbed on a Si(100) surface is presented. The hydrogen-silicon interaction is treated with a semiempirical bond-order potential. Calculations are performed for H–Si clusters of different sizes. The finite lifetime is due to vibration-phonon coupling, which is assumed to be linear or bilinear in the phonon and nonlinear in the H–Si stretching and bending modes. Lifetimes and vibrational transition rates are evaluated with one- and two-phonon processes taken into account. Temperature effects are also discussed. In agreement with the experiment and previous theoretical treatment it is found that the H–Si (υs=1) stretching vibration decays on a nanosecond timescale, whereas for the H–Si (υb=1) bending mode a picosecond decay is predicted. For higher-excited vibrations, simple scaling laws are found if the excitation energies are not too large. The relaxation mechanisms for the excited H–Si stretching and the H–Si bending modes are analyzed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical waves in the H2 + O2 reaction on a Rh(111) surface alloyed with Ni [ ΘNi < 1.5 monolayers (ML)] have been investigated in the 10-7 and 10-6 mbar range at T = 773 K using scanning photoelectron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as in situ methods. The local intensity variations of the O 1s and the Ni 2p signal display an anticorrelated behavior. The coincidence of a high oxygen signal with a low Ni 2p intensity, which seemingly contradicts the chemical attraction between O and Ni, has been explained with a phase separation of the oxygen covered Rh(111)/Ni surface into a 3D-Ni oxide and into a Ni poor metallic phase. Macroscopic NiO islands (≈1 μm size) formed under reaction conditions have been identified as 2D-Ni oxide. Titration experiments of the oxygen covered Rh(111)/Ni surface with H2 demonstrated that the reactivity of oxygen is decreased by an order of magnitude through the addition of 0.6 ML Ni. An excitation mechanism is proposed in which the periodic formation and reduction of NiO modulate the catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical waves that arise in the H2 + O2 reaction on a bimetallic Rh(111)/Ni surface have been studied in the 10-6 and 10-5 mbar range at T = 773 K with photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Nickel coverages of 0.3, 0.6, and 1.0 monolayers were investigated. Coadsorbed with some oxygen, Ni starts to penetrate the Rh bulk region substantially only beyond 900 K. In the 10-5 mbar range, chemical waves are characterized by three distinct gray levels in PEEM. This number reduces to only two levels in the 10-6 mbar range. In situ LEED showed the periodic appearance of a (nx1) (n = 8, 10) pattern during chemical waves which was assigned to a 2D-Ni oxide. With in situ AES, one observes that the bright phase in PEEM correlates with a high Ni coverage and the dark phase with a low Ni coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A time-dependent (TD) quantum wavepacket calculation of reaction probabilities is reported for the reaction HO + CO → H + CO2 for total angular momentum J=0. The dynamics calculation employs the potential-averaged five-dimensional model (PA5D) and is made possible by using a normalized angular quadrature scheme to minimize the requirement for computer memory. Reaction probabilities are obtained from the ground state as well as rotationally excited state in either one of the reactant diatoms. Strong resonances are found in the present study and calculated reaction probabilities are dominated by many narrow and overlapping resonances. These features are in qualitative agreement with several lower dimensional quantum dynamics studies. However, quantitative comparison of the present result with previously reported quantum calculations, including a recent planar four-dimensional (4D) calculation of Goldfield et al., shows that our calculated reaction probabilities are much smaller than those found in reduced dimensionality calculations. We also found reaction probability to be more sensitive to the rotational motion of CO than of HO. In addition to reaction probabilities, the bound state calculation for the stable intermediate complex HOCO has also been carried out and energies of several low-lying vibrational states are obtained. The potential energy surface (PES) of Schatz–Fitzcharles–Harding (SFH) is used in all the calculates presented in this paper. © 1995 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantum instanton approximation for thermal rate constants of chemical reactions [Miller, Zhao, Ceotto, and Yang, J. Chem. Phys. 119, 1329 (2003)], which is modeled after the earlier semiclassical instanton approach, is applied to the hydrogen abstraction reaction from methane by a hydrogen atom, H+CH[sub 4]→H[sub 2]+CH[sub 3], using a modified and recalibrated version of the Jordan–Gilbert potential surface. The quantum instanton rate is evaluated using path integral Monte Carlo approaches based on the recently proposed implementation schemes [Yamamoto and Miller, J. Chem. Phys. 120, 3086 (2004)]. The calculations were carried out using the Cartesian coordinates of all the atoms (thus involving 18 degrees of freedom), thereby taking explicit account of rotational effects of the whole system and also allowing the equivalent treatment of the four methane hydrogens. To achieve such a treatment, we present extended forms of the path integral estimators for relevant quantities that may be used for general N-atom systems with any generalized reaction coordinates. The quantum instanton rates thus obtained for the temperature range T=200–2000 K show good agreement with available experimental data, which gives support to the accuracy of the underlying potential surface used. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phase corrected adiabatic separation method proposed recently by Marechal [J. Chem. Phys. 83, 247 (1985)] is reexamined. We have been able to show that a state independent differential equation exists, which governs the phase coupling function f of this method, if f further satisfies a set of constraints, Eqs. (7) of the present paper. The method is illustrated by its application to three simple, exactly soluble two-body systems: the free hydrogen atom, the linearly forced hydrogen atom, and the system of two harmonically coupled oscillators. We show that for these systems, the present method, which employs an adiabatic separation procedure, after phase correcting the Hamiltonian, leads to exact results, suggesting its utility for more general problem, involving nonseparable potentials. A nonseparable system of particular interest is the dressed hydrogen atom, which is a representative of all dressed systems, molecular or atomic, with respect to radiative couplings. The method of phase corrected adiabatic separation is shown to give, for field frequencies lying below an IR threshold, a better representation for the exact eigenstates of this dressed systems, as ensuing residual couplings are estimated to be of second order in the original radiative coupling constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compares the sensitivity behavior between direct and long-lived classical trajectories and quantum wave packets in a H-H[sub 2] reaction. Response to perturbations; Sensitivities of trajectories to variations in the potential; Algorithm that accounts for the contributions to the sensitivities from the trajectories.

Studies the classical functional sensitivity behavior of the collinear F-H[sub 2] reaction. Effects of features in the Muckerman 5 potential on product vibrational energy; Sensitivity function at high temperatures and energies.

In a previous paper [P. G. Jambrina et al., J. Chem. Phys. 135, 034310 (2011)] various calculations of the rate coefficient for the Mu + H2 → MuH + H reaction were presented and compared to experiment. The widely used standard quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) method was shown to overestimate the rate coefficients by several orders of magnitude over the temperature range 200-1000 K. This was attributed to a major failure of that method to describe the correct threshold for the reaction owing to the large difference in zero-point energies (ZPE) of the reactant H2 and product MuH (∼0.32 eV). In this Communication we show that by performing standard QCT calculations for the reverse reaction and then applying detailed balance, the resulting rate coefficient is in very good agreement with the other computational results that respect the ZPE, (as well as with the experiment) but which are more demanding computationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent paper [Y. Xiao, W. Dong, and H. F. Busnengo, J. Chem. Phys. 132, 014704 (2010)], two of us (Y.X. and W.D.) and H. F. Busnengo reported the parameterization of some reactive force fields (RFF) for describing the dissociative adsorption of H2 on Pd surfaces. They obtained a sufficiently accurate RFF by using the reactive bond order (REBO) formalism of Brenner and showed that the simpler RFF based on the second moment approximation (SMA) failed in giving reliable results. It was concluded that the failure is due to the oversimplified expressions of RFF based on SMA and hence the lack of necessary flexibility. The results of our more recent investigation show that this conclusion needs to be corrected. A more suitable choice of the parameterization conditions allows, in fact, for obtaining a reliable RFF from SMA also. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum reactive and elastic cross sections and rate coefficients have been calculated for D+ + H2 (v = 0, j = 0) collisions in the energy range from 10-8 K (deep ultracold regime), where only one partial wave is open, to 150 K (Langevin regime) where many of them contribute. In systems involving ions, the ~R-4 behavior extends the interaction up to extremely long distances, requiring a special treatment. To this purpose, we have used a modified version of the hyperspherical quantum reactive scattering method, which allows the propagations up to distances of 105 a0 needed to converge the elastic cross sections. Interpolation procedures are also proposed which may reduce the cost of exact dynamical calculations at such low energies. Calculations have been carried out on the PES by Velilla et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 129, 084307 (2008)] which accurately reproduces the long range interactions. Results on its prequel, the PES by Aguado et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 112, 1240 (2000)], are also shown in order to emphasize the significance of the inclusion of the long range interactions. The calculated reaction rate coefficient changes less than one order of magnitude in a collision energy range of ten orders of magnitude, and it is found in very good agreement with the available experimental data in the region where they exist (10-100 K). State-to-state reaction probabilities are also provided which show that for each partial wave, the distribution of HD final states remains essentially constant below 1 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recently proposed coupled three-dimensional time-dependent wave-packet formalism in hyperspherical coordinates is shown to yield accurate results for the reactive non-charge transfer process in the title system at collision energies as low as 100 K, where the lowest sheet of the accurate double many body expansion form for the singlet H+3 is used. The results are compared with available experimental data as well as time-independent calculations, and the agreement shown to be generally good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eight-dimensional (8D) transition-state wave packet simulations have been performed on two latest potential energy surfaces (PES), the Zhou-Fu-Wang-Collins-Zhang (ZFWCZ) PES [Y. Zhou, B. Fu, C. Wang, M. A. Collins, and D. H. Zhang, J. Chem. Phys. 134, 064323 (2011)] and the Xu-Chen- Zhang (XCZ)-neural networks (NN) PES [X. Xu, J. Chen, and D. H. Zhang, Chin. J. Chem. Phys. 27, 373 (2014)]. Reaction rate constants for both the H+CH4 reaction and the H2+CH3 reaction are calculated. Simulations of the H+CH4 reaction based on the XCZ-NN PES show that the ZFWCZ PES predicts rate constants with reasonable high accuracy for low temperatures while leads to slightly lower results for high temperatures, in line with the distribution of interpolation error associated with the ZFWCZ PES. The 8D H+CH4 rate constants derived on the ZFWCZ PES compare well with full-dimensional 12D results based on the equivalent m-ZFWCZ PES, with a maximum relative difference of no more than 20%. Additionally, very good agreement is shown by comparing the 8D XCZ-NN rate constants with the 12D results obtained on the ZFWCZ-WM PES, after considering the difference in static barrier height between these two PESs. The reaction rate constants calculated for the H2+CH3 reaction are found to be in good consistency with experimental observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotationally resolved reaction probabilities, integral cross sections, and rate constant for the H+ + H2 (v = 0, j = 0 or 1) → H2 (v' = 0, j') + H + reaction are calculated using a timeindependent quantum mechanical method and the potential energy surface of Kamisaka et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 116,654 (2002)] (say KBNN PES). All partial wave contributions of the total angular momentum, J, are included to obtain converged cross sections at low collision energies and rate constants at low temperatures. In order to test the accuracy of the KBNN PES, the results obtained here are compared with those obtained in our earlier work [P. Honvault et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107,023201 (2011)] using the accurate potential energy surface of Velilla et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 129, 084307 (2008)]. Integral cross sections and rate constants obtained on the two potential energy surfaces considered here show remarkable differences in terms of magnitude and dependence on collision energy (or temperature) which can be attributed to the differences observed in the topography of the surfaces near to the entrance channel. This clearly shows the inadequacy of the KBNN PES for calculations at low collision energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct-dynamics variational transition-state theory calculations are studied at the MPWB1K/6-311++G(d,p) level for the four parts of reactions. The first part is hydrogen or deuterium abstraction in the reactions of CH3 + CH4, CH3 + CD4, and CH3D + CH3. The second part involves C-C bond formation in these reactions. The third one is the reactions of CH3CH3 + H and CH3CD3 + D to form of H2, HD, and D2. The last one is the dissociation of C-C bonds in the last group of reactions. The ground-state vibrational adiabatic potential is plotted for all channels. We have carried out direct-dynamics calculations of the rate constants, including multidimensional tunneling in the temperature range T = 200-2200 K. The results of CVT/μOMT rate constants were in good agreement with the experimental data which were available for some reactions. Small-curvature tunneling and Large-curvature tunneling with the LCG4 version were used to include the quantum effects in calculation of the rate constants. To try to find the region of formation and dissociation of bounds we have also reported the variations of harmonic vibrational frequencies along the reaction path. The thermally averaged transmission probability (P(E)exp (-ΔE/RT)) and representative tunneling energy at 298 K are reported for the reactions in which tunneling is important. We have calculated kinetic isotope effect which shows tunneling and vibrational contributions are noticeable to determine the rate constant. Nonlinear least-squares fitting is used to calculate rate constant expressions in the temperature range 200-2200 K. These expressions revealed that pre-exponential factor includes two parts; the first part is a constant number which is important at low temperatures while the second part is temperature dependent which is significant at high temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report fully-quantum, time-independent, scattering calculations for the spin-orbit quenching of Cl(2P1/2) by H2 molecules at low and moderate temperature. Our calculations take into account chemical reaction channels. Cross sections are calculated for total energies up to 5000 cm-1 which are used to determine, by thermal averaging, state-to-state rate coefficients at temperatures ranging from 50 to 500 K. Spin-orbit relaxation of chlorine is dominated by collisions with H2 in the rotationally excited states j = 2 and j = 3. In the former case the near-resonant energy transfer is the primary relaxation mechanism. The inclusion of the reactive channel could lead differences compared to pure inelastic calculations. Good agreement is obtained with experimental relaxation measurements at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bimolecular chemical reaction control of gaseous CO and H2 at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, without any catalyst, using shaped femtosecond laser pulses is presented. High intensity laser radiation applied to a reaction cell facilitates non-resonant bond breakage and the formation of a range of ions, which can then react to form new products. Stable reaction products are measured after irradiation of a reaction cell, using time of flight mass spectroscopy. Bond formation of C-O, C-C, and C-H bonds is demonstrated as CO2+, C2H2+, CH+, and CH3+ were observed in the time of flight mass spectrum of the product gas, analyzed after irradiation. The formation of CO2 is shown to be dependent on laser intensity, irradiation time, and on the presence of H2 in the reaction cell. Using negatively chirped laser pulses more C-O bond formation takes place as compared to more C-C bond formation for unchirped pulses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We applied infrared matrix isolation spectroscopy to investigate the reactions between Cl atom and acetylene (C2H2) in a para-hydrogen (p-H2) matrix at 3.2 K; Cl was produced via photodissociation at 365 nm of matrix-isolated Cl2 in situ. The 1-chloroethyl radical (·CHClCH3) and chloroethene (C2H3Cl) are identified as the main products of the reaction Cl + C2H2 in solid p-H2. IR absorption lines at 738.2, 1027.6, 1283.4, 1377.1, 1426.6, 1442.6, and 2861.2 cm-1 are assigned to the 1-chloroethyl radical. For the reaction of Cl + C2D2, lines due to the ·CDClCH2D radical and trans-CHDCDCl are observed; the former likely has a syn-conformation. These assignments are based on comparison of observed vibrational wavenumbers and 13C- and D-isotopic shifts with those predicted with the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ and MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ methods. Our observation indicates that the primary addition product of Cl + C2H2, 2-chlorovinyl (·CHCHCl) reacts readily with a neighboring p-H2 molecule to form ·CHClCH3 and C2H3Cl. Observation of ·CDClCH2D and trans-CHDCDCl from Cl + C2D2 further supports this conclusion. Although the reactivity of p-H2 appears to be a disadvantage for making highly reactive free radicals in solid p-H2, the formation of 1-chloroethyl radical indicates that this secondary reaction might be advantageous in producing radicals that are difficult to prepare from simple photolysis or bimolecular reactions in situ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by a recent successful adiabatic-hindered-rotor treatment for parahydrogen pH2 in CO2-H2 complexes [H. Li, P.-N. Roy, and R. J. Le Roy, J. Chem. Phys. 133, 104305 (2010); H. Li, R. J. Le Roy, P.-N. Roy, and A. R. W. McKellar, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 133401 (2010)], we apply the same approximation to the more challenging H2O-H2 system. This approximation reduces the dimension of the H2O-H2 potential from 5D to 3D and greatly enhances the computational efficiency. The global minimum of the original 5D potential is missing from the adiabatic 3D potential for reasons based on solution of the hindered-rotor Schrödinger equation of the pH2. Energies and wave functions of the discrete rovibrational levels of H2O-pH2 complexes obtained from the adiabatic 3D potential are in good agreement with the results from calculations with the full 5D potential. This comparison validates our approximation, although it is a relatively cruder treatment for pH2-H2O than it is for pH2-CO2. This adiabatic approximation makes large-scale simulations of H2O-pH2 systems possible via a pairwise additive interaction model in which pH2 is treated as a point-like particle. The poor performance of the diabatically spherical treatment of pH2 rotation excludes the possibility of approximating pH2 as a simple sphere in its interaction with H2O. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven-dimensional time-dependent wave packet calculations were carried out to study the title reaction on the potential energy surface constructed recently by the group [Y. Zhou, B. Fu, C. Wang, M. A. Collins, and D. H. Zhang, J. Chem. Phys. 134, 064323 (2011)]. Total reaction probabilities and integral cross sections were calculated for a number of initial vibration states. It is found that the fundamental C-H stretching excitation can promote the reaction dramatically. At E = 1.53 eV, it enhances the integral cross section by a factor of 13.2, which is in good agreement with the quasiclassical trajectory result on the ZBB1 potential energy surface, but larger than that on the the EG-2002 potential energy surface. The thermal rate constants were obtained for the title reaction by taking into account the contributions from all relevant initial vibration states. It is found that the ground initial state has a dominant contribution to the thermal rate constant at low temperature region. As the temperature increases, the relative contribution to the thermal rate constant from the ground initial state decreases quickly, and those from the stretching and bending excited states increases substantially. It is estimated that the C-H stretching mode contributes about 40% of the thermal rate constant at T = 1000 K despite the fact that the overall population for stretching excited states is tiny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collision induced dissociation (CID), four center reaction (4C), and single exchange reaction (SE) in H2 (v1 = high) + D2 (v2 = low) were studied by means of time-dependent wave packet approach within a full-dimensional model. Initial state-selected total reaction probabilities for the three competitive processes have been computed on two realistic global potential energy surfaces of Aguado-Suárez-Paniagua and Boothroyd-Martin-Keogh-Peterson (BMKP) with the total angular momentum J = 0. The role of both vibrationally excited and rotationally excited reagents was examined by varying the initial vibrational and rotational states. The vibrational excitation of the hot diatom gives an enhancement effect on the CID process, while the vibrational excitation of the cold diatom gives an inhibition effect. The rotational excitation of both reagents has a significant effect on the reaction process. The 4C and SE probabilities are at least one order of magnitude smaller than the CID probabilities over the energy range considered. Isotope substitution effects were also studied by substituting the collider D2 by H2 and HD on the BMKP potential energy surfaces. The CID process is most efficient for the H2 + D2 combination and least efficient for the H2 + H2 combination and is different for the 4C and SE processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical reaction H3+ + H2 → H2 + H3+ is the simplest bimolecular reaction involving a polyatomic, yet is complex enough that exact quantum mechanical calculations to adequately model its dynamics are still unfeasible. In particular, the branching fractions for the 'identity,' 'proton hop,' and 'hydrogen exchange' reaction pathways are unknown, and to date, experimental measurements of this process have been limited. In this work, the nuclear-spin-dependent steady-state kinetics of the H3+ + H2 reaction is examined in detail, and employed to generate models of the ortho:para ratio of H3+ formed in plasmas of varying ortho:para H2 ratios. One model is based entirely on nuclear spin statistics, and is appropriate for temperatures high enough to populate a large number of H3+ rotational states. Efforts are made to include the influence of three-body collisions in this model by deriving nuclear spin product branching fractions for the H5+ + H2 reaction. Another model, based on rate coefficients calculated using a microcanonical statistical approach, is appropriate for lower-temperature plasmas in which energetic considerations begin to compete with the nuclear spin branching fractions. These models serve as a theoretical framework for interpreting the results of laboratory studies on the reaction of H3+ with H2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nuclear spin dependence of the chemical reaction H3++ H2 → H2 + H3+ has been studied in a hollow cathode plasma cell. Multipass infrared direct absorption spectroscopy has been employed to monitor the populations of several low-energy rotational levels of ortho- and para-H3+ (o-H3+ and p-H3+) in hydrogenic plasmas of varying para-H2 (p-H2) enrichment. The ratio of the rates of the proton hop (kH) and hydrogen exchange (kE) reactions α ≡ kH/kE is inferred from the observed p-H3+ fraction as a function of p-H2 fraction using steady-state chemical models. Measurements have been performed both in uncooled (Tkin ∼ 350 K) and in liquid-nitrogen-cooled (Tkin ∼ 135 K) plasmas, marking the first time this reaction has been studied at low temperature. The value of α has been found to decrease from 1.6 ± 0.1 at 350 K to 0.5 ± 0.1 at 135 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All the channels of the reaction dynamics of gas-phase H (or D) atoms with D (or H) atoms adsorbed onto a Cu(111) surface have been studied by quasiclassical constant energy molecular dynamics simulations. The surface is flexible and is prepared at different temperature values, such as 30 K, 94 K, and 160 K. The adsorbates were distributed randomly on the surface to create 0.18 ML, 0.28 ML, and 0.50 ML of coverages. The multi-layer slab is mimicked by a many-body embedded-atom potential energy function. The slab atoms can move according to the exerted external forces. Treating the slab atoms non-rigid has an important effect on the dynamics of the projectile atom and adsorbates. Significant energy transfer from the projectile atom to the surface lattice atoms takes place especially during the first impact that modifies significantly the details of the dynamics of the collisions. Effects of the different temperatures of the slab are investigated in this study. Interaction between the surface atoms and the adsorbates is modeled by a modified London-Eyring-Polanyi-Sato (LEPS) function. The LEPS parameters are determined by using the total energy values which were calculated by a density functional theory and a generalized gradient approximation for an exchange-correlation energy for many different orientations, and locations of one- and two-hydrogen atoms on the Cu(111) surface. The rms value of the fitting procedure is about 0.16 eV. Many different channels of the processes on the surface have been examined, such as inelastic reflection of the incident hydrogen, subsurface penetration of the incident projectile and adsorbates, sticking of the incident atom on the surface. In addition, hot-atom and Eley-Rideal direct processes are investigated. The hot-atom process is found to be more significant than the Eley-Rideal process. Furthermore, the rate of subsurface penetration is larger than the sticking rate on the surface. In addition, these results are compared and analyzed as a function of the surface temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associated with chemical reactions at surfaces energy may be dissipated exciting surface electronic degrees of freedom. These excitations are detected using metal-insulator-metal (MIM) heterostructures (Ta-TaOx-Au) and the reactions of H with and on a Au surface are probed. A current corresponding to 5×10-5 electrons per adsorbing H atom and a marked isotope effect are observed under steady-state conditions. Analysis of the current trace when the H atom flux is intermitted suggests that predominantly the recombination reaction creates electronic excitations. Biasing the front versus the back electrode of the MIM structure provides insights into the spectrum of electronic excitations. The observed spectra differ for the two isotopes H and D and are asymmetric when comparing negative and positive bias voltages. Modeling indicates that the excited electrons and the concurrently created holes differ in their energy distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We extend to full dimensionality a recently developed wave packet method [M. T. Cvitasˇ and S. C. Althorpe, J. Phys. Chem. A 113, 4557 (2009)] for computing the state-to-state quantum dynamics of AB + CD → ABC + D reactions and also increase the computational efficiency of the method. This is done by introducing a new set of product coordinates, by applying the Crank-Nicholson approximation to the angular kinetic energy part of the split-operator propagator and by using a symmetry-adapted basis-to-grid transformation to evaluate integrals over the potential energy surface. The newly extended method is tested on the benchmark OH + H2 → H2O + H reaction, where it allows us to obtain accurately converged state-to-state reaction probabilities (on the Wu-Schatz-Fang-Lendvay-Harding potential energy surface) with modest computational effort. These methodological advances will make possible efficient calculations of state-to-state differential cross sections on this system in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied the influence of preadsorbed CO on the dissociative adsorption of H2 on Ru(0001) with density functional theory calculations. For a coverage of 1/3 ML CO, we investigated different possible reaction paths for hydrogen dissociation using nudged elastic band and adaptive nudged elastic band calculations. One reaction path was studied in detail through an energy decomposition and molecular orbital type of analysis. The minimum barrier for H2 dissociation is found to be 0.29 eV. At the barrier the H–H bond is hardly stretched. Behind this barrier a molecular chemisorption minimum is present. Next, the molecule overcomes a second barrier, with a second local chemisorption minimum behind it. To finally dissociate to chemisorbed atoms, the molecule has to overcome a third barrier. To move along the reaction path from reactants to products, the hydrogen molecule needs to rotate, and to significantly change its center-of-mass position. The procedure of mapping out reaction paths for H2 reacting on low-index surfaces of bare metals (computing two-dimensional elbow plots for fixed impact high-symmetry sites and H2 orientations parallel to the surface) does not work for H2+CO/Ru. The first barrier in the path is recovered, but the features of the subsequent stretch to the dissociative chemisorption minimum are not captured, because the molecule is not allowed to change its center-of-mass position or to rotate. The dissociative chemisorption of H2 on CO/Ru(0001) is endoergic, in contrast to the case of H2 on bare Ru(0001). The zero-point energy corrected energies of molecularly and dissociatively chemisorbed H2 are very close, suggesting that it may be possible to detect molecularly chemisorbed H2 on (3×3)R30°CO/Ru(0001). The presence of CO on the surface increases the barrier height to dissociation compared with bare Ru(0001). Based on an energy decomposition and molecular orbital analysis we attribute the increase in the barrier height mainly to an occupied-occupied interaction between the bonding H2 σg orbital and the (surface-hybridized) CO 1π orbitals, i.e., to site blocking. There is a small repulsive contribution to the barrier from the interaction between the H2 molecule and the Ru part of the CO covered Ru surface, but it is smaller than one might expect based on the calculations of H2 interacting with a clean Ru surface, and on calculations of H2 interacting with the CO overlayer only. Actually, the analysis suggests that the Ru surface as a subsystem is (slightly) more reactive for the reaction path studied with CO preadsorbed on it than without it. Thus, the results indicate that the influence of CO on H2 dissociation on Ru is not only a simple site-blocking effect, the electronic structure of the underlying Ru is changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low-lying triplet and singlet potential energy surfaces of the O(3P)+CH3CN reaction have been studied at the G3(MP2)//B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level. On the triplet surface, six kinds of pathways are revealed, namely, direct hydrogen abstraction, C-addition/elimination, N-addition/elimination, substitution, insertion, and H-migration. Multichannel Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus theory and transition-state theory are employed to calculate the overall and individual rate constants over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. It is predicted that the direct hydrogen abstraction and C-addition/elimination on triplet potential energy surface are dominant pathways. Major predicted end products include CH3+NCO and CH2CN+OH. At atmospheric pressure with Ar and N2 as bath gases, CH3C(O)N (IM1) formed by collisional stabilization is dominated at T<700 K, whereas CH3 and NCO produced by C-addition/elimination pathway are the major products at the temperatures between 800 and 1500 K; the direct hydrogen abstraction leading to CH2CN+OH plays an important role at higher temperatures in hydrocarbon combustion chemistry and flames, with estimated contribution of 64% at 2000 K. Furthermore, the calculated rate constants are in good agreement with available experimental data over the temperature range 300–600 K. The kinetic isotope effect has also been calculated for the triplet O(3P)+CH3CN reaction. On the singlet surface, the atomic oxygen can easily insert into C–H or C–C bonds of CH3CN, forming the insertion intermediates s-IM8(HOCH2CN) and s-IM5(CH3OCN) or add to the carbon atom of CN group in CH3CN, forming the addition intermediate s-IM1(CH3C(O)N); both approaches were found to be barrierless. It is indicated that the singlet reaction exhibits a marked difference from the triplet reaction. This calculation is useful to simulate experimental investigations of the O(3P)+CH3CN reaction in the singlet state surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for projecting chemical reaction surface coordinates from a Hessian in curvilinear internal coordinates has recently been developed. Here we introduce a modification to this approach which allows for analytical evaluation of the necessary coordinate derivatives, thus reducing the number of ab initio calculations required. We apply this method to the determination of spectator mode frequencies and zero-point energies for the series of hydrogen abstraction reactions X+CH4→XH+CH3, X=muonium (μ), H, D, CH3. Comparison of these frequencies with those obtained using rectilinear coordinates allows us to examine how the mass of X affects the coordinate sensitivity of the spectator modes. We carry out two-dimensional quantum reactive scattering calculations for these reactions to highlight instances where the choice of coordinates may have a significant impact on the evaluated thermal rate constants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports an ab initio characterization of a prereactive van der Waals complex between an open-shell atom Br(2P) and a closed shell molecule HBr. The three adiabatic potential surfaces 1 2A′, 2 2A′, and 1 2A″, which result from the splitting of degenerate P state of Br are obtained from coupled cluster calculations. The coupling between same-symmetry states is calculated by multireference configuration-interaction method. A transformation to a diabatic representation and inclusion of the spin-orbit coupling effects on the interactions are also discussed. Bound states are calculated using an adiabatic bender model. The global minimum on the lowest adiabatic potential surface corresponds to a T-shaped geometry and has a well depth of De=762.5 cm-1 at Re=3.22 Å. A secondary minimum occurs for a hydrogen-bonded geometry with De=445.3 cm-1 at Re=4.24 Å. Upon inclusion of spin-orbit coupling the hydrogen-bonded minimum remains at the same depth, but the T-shaped minimum washes out to less than half of its spin-free value. The lowest bound state is localized in the linear minimum. The spin-orbit coupling plays a very important role in shaping of the potential energy surfaces of Br–HBr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygen vacancies on [formula] have been proposed to be the catalytically active sites for methanol synthesis on pure ZnO. The charge state and thus the chemical reactivity of such vacancies on this polar O-terminated basal plane of ZnO is expected to be intimately connected to the degree of its hydroxylation in view of its Tasker type(3) unstable character. Here, the interplay between hydrogen adsorption and the thermodynamic stability of O vacancies in various charge states, corresponding formally to F++, F+, F0, F-, and F-- centers, is investigated using electronic structure calculations. Assuming thermodynamic equilibrium of the defective surface with a hydrogen containing gas phase the thermodynamically most stable O vacancy type is determined as a function of temperature and pressure. For the adsorption of H2 molecules at O vacancy sites it is found that the homolytic process leads to energetically more favorable structures than heterolytic adsorption and hydride formation. By homolytic adsorption and desorption one can switch between F++, F0, and F-- or between F+ and F-, a process which is believed to occur during methanol synthesis. However, the barrier for heterolytic dissociation of H2 at O vacancies is significantly lower compared to homolytic cleavage. Furthermore, the barrier for transforming hydridic hydrogen, i.e., ZnH species, to protonic hydrogen, i.e., OH species together with a reduction of ZnO itself, is quite high. This implies that hydridic H- species created as a result of heterolytic dissociation might have a long enough lifetime at O vacancies that they will be available for methanol synthesis. ZnH and OH vibrational frequencies have been computed in order to assist future experimental assignments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First-principles density functional theory and a periodic-slab model have been employed to explore the adsorption of a two-chlorophenol molecule on a Cu2O(110) surface containing surface Cu–O bonds, namely, the Cu2O(110):CuO surface. The two-chlorophenol molecule is found to interact very weakly with the Cu2O(110):CuO surface, forming several vertical and flat orientations. These weakly bound states tend to result from interaction between the phenolic hydrogen and an oxygen surface atom. The formation of a two-chlorophenoxy moiety and an isolated hydrogen on the Cu2O(110):CuO surface from a vacuum two-chlorophenol molecule is determined to have an endothermicity of 8.2 kcal/mol (0.37 eV). The energy required to form a two-chlorophenoxy radical in the gas phase is also found to be much smaller when assisted by the Cu2O(110):CuO surface than direct breaking of the hydroxyl bond of a free two-chlorophenol molecule. The calculated binding energy of a two-chlorophenoxy radical adsorbed directly onto the Cu2O(110):CuO surface is -12.5 kcal/mol (0.54 eV). The Cu2O(110):CuO and Cu(100) surfaces are found to have similar energy barriers for forming a surface-bound two-chlorophenoxy moiety from the adsorption of a two-chlorophenol molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new analytical potential energy surface is presented for the reaction of hydrogen abstraction from methane by a hydrogen atom. It is based on an analytical expression proposed by Jordan and Gilbert [J. Chem. Phys. 102, 5669 (1995)], and its fittable parameters were obtained by a multibeginning optimization procedure to reproduce high-level ab initio electronic structure calculations obtained at the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ level. The ab initio information employed in the fit includes properties (equilibrium geometries, relative energies, and vibrational frequencies) of the reactants, products, saddle point, points on the reaction path, and points on the reaction swath. No experimental information is used. By comparison with the reference results we show that the resulting surface reproduces well not only the ab initio data used in the fitting but also other thermochemical and kinetic results computed at the same ab initio level, such as equilibrium constants, rate constants, and kinetic isotope effects, which were not used in the fit. In this way we show that the new potential energy surface is correctly fitted and almost as accurate as the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ method in describing the kinetics of the reaction. We analyze the limitations of the functional form and the fitting method employed, and suggest some solutions to their drawbacks. In a forthcoming communication, we test the quality of the new surface by comparing its results with experimental values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The correlation consistent composite approach (ccCA) was applied to the prediction of reaction barrier heights (i.e., transition state energy relative to reactants and products) for a standard benchmark set of reactions comprised of both hydrogen transfer reactions and nonhydrogen transfer reactions (i.e., heavy-atom transfer, SN2, and unimolecular reactions). The ccCA method was compared against G3B for the same set of reactions. Error metrics indicate that ccCA achieves “chemical accuracy” with a mean unsigned error (MUE) of 0.89 kcal/mol with respect to the benchmark data for barrier heights; G3B has a mean unsigned error of 1.94 kcal/mol. Further, the greater accuracy of ccCA for predicted reaction barriers is compared to other benchmarked literature methods, including density functional (BB1K, MUE=1.16 kcal/mol) and wavefunction-based [QCISD(T), MUE=1.10 kcal/mol] methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A semiclassical initial value representation formulation using the Van Vleck [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 14, 178 (1928)] propagator has been used to calculate the flux correlation function and thereby reaction rate constants. This Van Vleck formulation of the flux-flux correlation function is computationally as simple as the classical Wigner [Trans. Faraday Soc. 34, 29 (1938)] model. However, unlike the latter, it has the ability to capture quantum interference/coherence effects. Classical trajectories are evolved starting from the dividing surface that separates reactants and products, and are evolved negatively in time. This formulation has been tested on model problems ranging from the Eckart barrier, double well to the collinear H+H2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors studied the photoelectrochemical properties dependent on carrier concentration of n-type GaN. The photocurrent at zero bias became the maximum value at the carrier concentration of 1.7×1017 cm-3. Using the sample optimized carrier concentration, the authors achieved H2 gas generation at a Pt counterelectrode without extra bias for the first time. The authors also discussed the mechanism of the dependence of photocurrent on the carrier concentration of GaN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent puzzle in nonadiabatic quantum dynamics is that geometric phase (GP) effects are present in the state-to-state opacity functions of the hydrogen-exchange reaction, but cancel out in the state-to-state integral cross sections (ICSs). Here the authors explain this result by using topology to separate the scattering amplitudes into contributions from Feynman paths that loop in opposite senses around the conical intersection. The clockwise-looping paths pass over one transition state (1-TS) and scatter into positive deflection angles; the counterclockwise-looping paths pass over two transition states (2-TS) and scatter into negative deflection angles. The interference between the 1-TS and 2-TS paths thus integrates to a very small value, which cancels the GP effects in the ICS. Quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) calculations reproduce the scattering of the 1-TS and 2-TS paths into positive and negative deflection angles and show that the 2-TS paths describe a direct insertion mechanism. The inserting atom follows a highly constrained “S-bend” path, which allows it to avoid both the other atoms and the conical intersection and forces the product diatom to scatter into high rotational states. By contrast, the quantum 2-TS paths scatter into a mainly statistical distribution of rotational states, so that the quantum 2-TS total ICS is roughly twice the QCT ICS at 2.3 eV total energy. This suggests that the S-bend constraint is relaxed by tunneling in the quantum system. These findings on H+H2 suggest that similar cancellations or reductions in GP effects are likely in many other reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First-principles pseudopotential calculations, within a simple dynamically constrained scheme, have been performed to investigate the reaction of 0.25 ML coverage of SiH4 and Si2H6 with the Si(001)-(2×2) surface. The silane molecule (SiH4) is adsorbed on to the surface at a number of different sites (on dimer, interrow, or intrarow) with varying barrier heights. Two distinct structures, which are similar in energy, arise from the initial dissociative reaction SiH4→SiH3(silyl)+H, where the dissociated species are adsorbed either on the same dimer components or on adjacent dimer components. Several further decays of silyl from SiH4 are presented in two separate regimes of high and low ambient hydrogen coverages. The decomposition of silyl can form two different bridging structures: an on top or an intrarow bridging structure in both of the two hydrogen coverage regimes. The disilane molecule (Si2H6) is also adsorbed upon this surface with varying energy barriers, resulting in a dissociation reaction where two SiH3 species are adsorbed on one dimer or in an adjacent dimer configuration. Plausible energy reaction paths for the above models are presented. The stability of the SiH2 species is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photoinduced hydrogen-elimination reaction in pyrrole via the conical intersections of the two 1πσ* excited states with the electronic ground states [1B1(πσ*)-S0 and 1A2(πσ*)-S0] have been investigated by time-dependent quantum wave-packet calculations. Model potential-energy surfaces of reduced dimensionality have been constructed on the basis of accurate multireference ab initio electronic-structure calculations. For the 1B1-S0 conical intersection, the model includes the NH stretching coordinate as the tuning mode and the hydrogen out-of-plane bending coordinate as the coupling mode. For the 1A2-S0 conical intersection, the NH stretching coordinate and the screwing coordinate of the ring hydrogens are taken into account. The latter is the dominant coupling mode of this conical intersection. The electronic population-transfer processes at the conical intersections, the branching ratio between the dissociation channels, and their dependence on the initial preparation of the system have been investigated for pyrrole and deuterated pyrrole. It is shown that the excitation of the NH stretching mode strongly enhances the reaction rate, while the excitation of the coupling mode influences the branching ratio of different dissociation channels. The results suggest that laser control of the photodissociation of pyrrole via mode-specific vibrational excitation should be possible. The calculations provide insight into the microscopic details of ultrafast internal-conversion processes in pyrrole via hydrogen-detachment processes, which are aborted at the 1πσ*-S0 conical intersections. These mechanisms are of relevance for the photostability of the building blocks of life (e.g., the DNA bases). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential-energy surfaces for the proton transfer in the doubly hydrogen-bonded dimer of 7-azaindole in its lowest excited electronic states were examined. The dimer with C2h symmetry in its lowest excited electronic states, 2Ag and 1Bu, undergoes concerted double-proton transfer via transition states of the same symmetry placed at energies 4.55 and 4.70 kcal/mol higher, respectively. This suggests that the activation barriers for the double-proton transfer, if any, are lower than 1 kcal/mol. Emission from the dimers resulting from the double-proton transfer involves a Stokes shift of 5605 cm-1, as theoretically estimated from the 0-0 components of the absortion and emission transitions of the dimer. Surprisingly, however, the calculations suggest that the green emission cannot arise from the 2Ag state generated by a double-proton transfer, because this structure possesses an imaginary frequency. In the 7-azaindole dimer of Cs symmetry, the first excited electronic state, a′, lies 4.9 kcal/mol below 1Bu. This excited state a′ can be the starting point for single-proton transfers giving a zwitterionic form that can dissociate into the protonated and deprotonated forms of 7-azaindole, the former being electronically excited. This situation of lower symmetry is consistent with the mutational scheme proposed by Goodman [Nature (London) 378, 237 (1995)]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A general quantum-mechanical method for computing kinetic isotope effects is presented. The method is based on the quantum-instanton approximation for the rate constant and on the path-integral Metropolis–Monte Carlo evaluation of the Boltzmann operator matrix elements. It computes the kinetic isotope effect directly, using a thermodynamic integration with respect to the mass of the isotope, thus avoiding the more computationally expensive process of computing the individual rate constants. The method should be more accurate than variational transition-state theories or the semiclassical instanton method since it does not assume a single tunneling path and does not use a semiclassical approximation of the Boltzmann operator. While the general Monte Carlo implementation makes the method accessible to systems with a large number of atoms, we present numerical results for the Eckart barrier and for the collinear and full three-dimensional isotope variants of the hydrogen exchange reaction H+H2→H2+H. In all seven test cases, for temperatures between 250 and 600 K, the error of the quantum instanton approximation for the kinetic isotope effects is less than ∼10%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The direct hydrogen abstraction reactions of Cl atom with SiHnCl4-n (n=1,2,3,4) have been studied systematically using ab initio molecular orbital theory. Geometries have been optimized at the MP2 level with 6-311+G(d) basis set, QCISD(T)/6-311+G(d,p) has been used in the final single point energy calculation. The kinetic calculations of these reactions have been explored using the canonical variational transition (CVT) state theory method with small-curvature tunneling (SCT) effect correction over the temperature range of 200–2000 K. The CVT/SCT rate constants exhibit typical non-Arrhenius behavior and three-parameter rate-temperature formulas have been fitted for the reactions of Cl with SiH4, SiH3Cl, SiH2Cl2, and SiHCl3, respectively (in unit of cm3 molecule-1 s-1). The calculated CVT/SCT rate constants are in agreement with the available experimental values. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated, both theoretically and experimentally, the reactions of naphthylium C10H7+ and d-naphthylium C10D7+ ions with H2 and D2. Cross sections as functions of the collision energy have been measured for a variety of reaction channels. Theoretical calculations have been carried out at the density functional theory level which utilizes the hybrid functional B3LYP and the split-valence 6-31G* basis set. The key features of the potential energy surfaces and the relevant thermochemical parameters have been calculated and they provide insights on the reaction mechanisms. The bimolecular reactivity of C10H7+ with H2 is dominated by the production of naphthalene cation C10H8+. The reaction is not a direct atom-abstraction process, but instead it proceeds via the formation of a stable intermediate complex C10H9+ of σ type geometry, with a significant mobility of hydrogen along the ring. This mobility allows the scrambling of the hydrogen atoms and causes the successive statistical fragmentation of the complex into a variety of product channels. Elimination of one H(D) atom appears to be favored over elimination of one H2 or HD molecule. Alternatively, the intermediate complex can be stabilized either by collision with a third body or by emission of a photon. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recently proposed approach, called “string method,” allows us to find minimum energy pathways connecting two metastable states of a system [W. E et al., Phys. Rev. B 66, 052301 (2002)]. So far this approach has been only used with empirical force field parametrizations of the atomic potential energy surface or in the context of macroscopic continuum models. Here we show that the string method can be efficiently combined with first-principles molecular dynamics to provide an accurate description of chemical reaction pathways and barriers. We illustrate the first-principles string molecular dynamics by applying it to the study of a surface chemical reaction, for which extensive experimental and theoretical works are available, namely, the adsorption of H2 on the reconstructed Si(100) surface. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gas-phase radical–radical reaction dynamics of O(3P)+C3H5→H(2S)+C3H4O was studied at an average collision energy of 6.4 kcal/mol in a crossed beam configuration. The ground-state atomic oxygen [O(3P)] and allyl radicals (C3H5) were generated by the photolysis of NO2 and the supersonic flash pyrolysis of allyl iodide, respectively. Nascent hydrogen atom products were probed by the vacuum-ultraviolet–laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy in the Lyman-α region centered at 121.6 nm. With the aid of the CBS–QB3 level of ab initio theory, it has been found that the barrierless addition of O(3P) to C3H5 forms the energy-rich addition complexes on the lowest doublet potential energy surface, which are predicted to undergo a subsequent direct decomposition step leading to the reaction products H+C3H4O. The major counterpart C3H4O of the probed hydrogen atom is calculated to be acrolein after taking into account the factors of barrier height, reaction enthalpy, and the number of intermediates involved along the reaction pathway. The nascent H-atom Doppler profile analysis shows that the average center-of-mass translational energy of the H+C3H4O products and the fraction of the total available energy released as the translational energy were determined to be 3.83 kcal/mol and 0.054, respectively. On the basis of comparison with statistical calculations, the reaction proceeds through the formation of short-lived addition complexes rather than statistical, long-lived intermediates, and the polyatomic acrolein product is significantly internally excited at the moment of the decomposition. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a study of reactions between neutral and negatively charged Au[sub n] clusters (n=2,3) and molecular hydrogen. The binding energies of the first and second hydrogen molecule to the gold clusters were determined using density functional theory (DFT), second order perturbation theory (MP2) and coupled cluster (CCSD(T)) methods. It is found that molecular hydrogen easily binds to neutral Au[sub 2] and Au[sub 3] clusters with binding energies of 0.55 eV and 0.71 eV, respectively. The barriers to H[sub 2] dissociation on these clusters with respect to Au[sub n]H[sub 2] complexes are 1.10 eV and 0.59 eV for n=2 and 3. Although negatively charged Au[sub n][sup -] clusters do not bind molecular hydrogen, H[sub 2] dissociation can occur with energy barriers of 0.93 eV for Au[sub 2][sup -] and 1.39 eV for Au[sub 3][sup -]. The energies of the Au[sub 2]H[sub 2][sup -] and Au[sub 3]H[sub 2][sup -] complexes with dissociated hydrogen molecules are lower than the energies of Au[sub 2][sup -]+H[sub 2] and Au[sub 3][sup -]+H[sub 2] by 0.49 eV and 0.96 eV, respectively. There is satisfactory agreement between the DFT and CCSD(T) results for binding energies, but the agreement is not as good for barrier heights. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]