Classical dynamics of collision-initiated intramolecular energy flow between metal⋅⋅⋅diatom bonds

Abstract

A classical trajectory study of energy flow between two metal-molecule bonds separated by a heavy metal atom in a collisionally perturbed complex O 3/4 C⋅⋅⋅M⋅⋅⋅C 3/4 O is presented. The left M⋅⋅⋅CO bond is excited by collision and subsequent flow of excitation is followed by classical mechanics. In the heavy metal system, the behavior of energy flow blockage by the metal atom prevails at certain total energies of the complex. The blockage causes a long time delay for energy flow between two M⋅⋅⋅CO bonds and bond dissociation. Such energy flow blockage is found to be absent in the light metal system, where the amount of energy transfer to the complex is much larger. The energy flow patterns associated with the blockage are discussed in detail. Specific systems considered are the collisional excitation of OC⋅⋅⋅Pt⋅⋅⋅CO and OC⋅⋅⋅Ni⋅⋅⋅CO by Ar.