Hot atom chemistry: oxygen at stepped platinum surfaces

It is a paradigm in chemistry that chemical reaction are mainly governed by thermodynamics. Within this assumption, reaction rates can be derived from transition state theory which requires a quasi-equilibrium between reactants and activated transition state complexes that is achieved through friction. However, to reach thermal equilibrium through friction takes some time. Here we show, based on ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of the interaction of molecular oxygen with stepped Pt surfaces, that chemical reactions in heterogeneous catalysis can occur in a non-equilibrium fashion when the excess kinetic energy upon entering the potential well of a reaction intermediate is large enough.

The Limitation of the Combination of Transition State Theory and Thermodynamics for the Reactions of Proteins and Nucleic Acids

When a reaction is accompanied by a change with the speed close to or slower than the reaction rate, a circulating reaction flow can exist among the reaction states in the macroscopic stationary state. If the accompanying change were at equilibrium in the timescale of the relevant reaction, the transition-state theory would hold to eliminate the flow.

DFT Calculations for the HONO Elimination Process of CL-20 Conformers

The HONO elimination process is regarded to be an important initial decomposition process of energetic nitramines. Four CL-20 conformers based on the ε-CL-20 were obtained by the optimization at the m062x/cc-pvtz level in this study, and the Transition State (TS) and Intrinsic Reaction Coordinate (IRC) calculations were carried out at the same level. In addition, the rate coefficients and activation energy of the HONO elimination process were evaluated using conventional transition state theory (TST) and canonical variational transition state theory (CVT) with Eckart and small-curvature tunneling (SCT) methods to correct the transmission coefficients for the quantum tunneling effect. The calculation results have shown that the HONO elimination process concerning the nitro groups located on six numbered rings is the hardest to happen, and it seems that the longer distance between nitro groups and the adjacent hydrogen atom would result in the higher barrier energy; the HONO elimination process is most likely to happen for the axial positioning of nitro groups located on five numbered rings and most unlikely to happen for the ones located on six numbered rings; CL-20 II and CL-20 IV conformers are the most unstable one and most stable one concerning the reaction difficulty of the HONO elimination process.

Tunneling of Hydrogen and Deuterium Atoms on Interstellar Ices (Ih and ASW)

Model calculations are performed to investigate the kinetic isotope effect of hydrogen and deuterium atom diffusion on hexagonal ice and amorphous solid water. Comparisons with experimental results by Kuwahata et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., Sep. 2015, 115 (13), 133201) at 10 K are made. The experimentally derived kinetic isotope effect on amorphous solid water is reproduced by transition state theory. The experimentally found kinetic isotope effect on hexagonal ice is much larger than on amorphous solid water and is not reproduced by transition state theory. Additional calculations using model potentials are made for the hexagonal ice, but the experimental kinetic isotope effect is not fully reproduced. A strong influence of temperature is observed in the calculations. The influence of tunnelling is discussed in detail and related to the experiments. The calculations fully support the claims by the Kuwahata et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., Sep. 2015, 115 (13), 133201) that on amorphous solid water the diffusion is predominantly by thermal hopping while on the polycrystalline ice tunnelling diffusion contributes significantly.

Relationship between Kinematic Viscosity and Cluster Size in Multicomponent Metal Melts

We analyzed the temperature dependences of the kinematic viscosity and density of Fe73.5Cu1M3Si13.5B9 melts, where M = Nb, Mo, V, and Cr, in the temperature range from 1450 to 1950 K using the transition state theory. It is shown that the activation energy of viscous flow is proportional to the particle size on a natural logarithmic scale. The lowest viscosity and the highest free volume has the Nb melt. In melts with Mo, V, and Cr, the structural units of viscous flow upon heating and cooling are clusters about 0.6 nm in size. In a melt with Nb, at the initial stage of heating, the vibrations of individual atoms prevail, the movement of which creates viscosity. After heating the Nb melt above the critical temperature of 1770 K, the viscous flow is associated with clusters about 1 nm in size. At the cooling stage, the cluster structure of the Nb melt is retained up to a temperature of 1450 K.

Kinetics of the Reactions of Ozone with Halogen Atoms in the Stratosphere

It is well established that reaction cycles involving inorganic halogens contribute to the depletion of ozone in the atmosphere. Here, the kinetics of O3 with halogen atoms (Cl, Br, and I) were investigated between 180 and 400 K, expanding the temperature range relative to prior studies. Canonical variational transition state theory including small curvature tunneling correction (CVT/SCT) were considered, following the construction of the potential energy surfaces. MRCI + Q/aug-ano-pVTZ//MP2/aug-cc-pV(T + d)Z and MRCI + Q/aug-ano-RCC-VTZP//MP2/aug-cc-pV(T + d)Z levels of theory were used to calculate the kinetic parameters. Calculated rate coefficients were used to fit the Arrhenius equations, which are obtained to be k1 = (3.48 ± 0.4) × 10−11 exp[(−301 ± 64)/T] cm3 molecule−1 s−1, k2 = (3.54 ± 0.2) × 10−11 exp[(−990 ± 35)/T] cm3 molecule−1 s−1 and k3 = (1.47 ± 0.1) × 10−11 exp[(−720 ± 42)/T] cm3 molecule−1 s−1 for the reactions of O3 with Cl, Br, and I atoms, respectively. The obtained rate coefficients for the reactions of O3 with halogen atoms using CVT/SCT are compared to the latest recommended rate coefficients by the NASA/JPL and IUPAC evaluations. The reactivity trends and pathways of these reactions are discussed.

Quamtum Mechanical Approach to Gas Phase Reaction of Isopropanol with Sulfanyl Radical

i-C3H7OH (IPA) is one of the potential fuel additives. The reaction mechanism of isopropanol with sulfanyl radical was investigated at the CCSD(T)//B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p) level of theory. Ten possible reaction pathways giving PR1-PR10 including three H-abstraction reactions and seven substitution reactions were considered. Based on the determined potential energy surface and molecular parameters, the rate constants and branching ratios of each reaction pathway were calculated at the temperature range of 298K - 2000K by using the transition state theory considering the Eckart tunnel effect. The kinetics results showed that at 298K, the reaction products were mainly PR2 ((CH3)2COH + H2S) (~ 100%). However, at 2000K, the contribution of PR2 decreased to 77.8% of the total product, while, PR3 (CH3CH(CH2)OH + H2S) and PR1 ((CH3)2CHO + H2S) accounted for 16.7% and 5.5% of the total product, respectively.