Progress on the modeling of the collisional energy transfer mechanism in unimolecular reactions

Abstract

AbstractThe RRKM theory of unimolecular reaction rates is a statistical mechanical theory based on an assumption of microcanonical equilibrium in the reactant phase space. The energy transfer in reactant medium collisions was originally described by a canonical strong collision assumption, i.e., an assumption of full thermal equilibration in each collision. In our work we first introduce a microcanonical strong collision assumption which gives the RRKM theory a consistent form. We then introduce parameterizations of the degree of weakness (nonergodicity) of the collisions. A concept of collision efficiency is defined. The weakness of the collision is expressed in terms of reduced subsets of active reactant and medium degrees of freedom. The corresponding partially ergodic collision theory (PECT) yields physical functional forms of the collisional energy transfer kernel P(E', E). In order to resolve the energy and temperature dependence and the dependence on interaction strength a multiple encounter theory is introduced (PEMET). Initially each encounter may be described by a semiempirical PECT model. Eventually the encounters may be resolved by quantum dynamical calculations of the semiclassical or CAQE (classical approach/quantum encounter) type. Simple statistical collision models only distinguish between “hits and misses”. In reality the energy transfer efficiency exhibits characteristic fall off with increasing impact parameter b. This b‐dependence can be explicitly accounted for in the master equation for the reaction rate coefficient.