Reactions of dimethyl ether with atomic oxygen: a matrix isolation and a quantum chemical study

The reactions of dimethyl ether with atomic oxygen produced by photolysis of ozone or N2O are investigated in low-temperature matrices. Two conformers of methoxymethanol arise as the major reaction products, and the mechanism of formation of methoxymethanol is examined using UMP, UCCSD(T) and UDFT. The O((super 1)D) insertion and H abstraction reaction shows that the out-of-plane C-H bonds are preferentially attacked due to the greater strength of the in-plane C-H bonds.