Rate Constants and Branching Ratios for the Reaction of CH Radicals with NH3: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

Abstract

The reaction between CH radicals and NH(3) molecules is known to be rapid down to at least 23 K {at which temperature k = (2.21 ± 0.17) × 10(-10) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1): Bocherel ; et al. J. Phys. Chem. 1996, 100, 3063}. However, there have been only limited theoretical investigations of this reaction and its products are not known. This paper reports (i) ab initio quantum chemical calculations on the energy paths that lead to various reaction products, (ii) calculations of the overall rate constant and branching ratios to different products using transition state and master equation methods, and (iii) an experimental determination of the H atom yield from the reaction. The ab initio calculations show that reaction occurs predominantly via the initial formation of a datively bound HC-NH(3) complex and reveal low energy pathways to three sets of reaction products: H(2)CNH + H, HCNH(2) + H, and CH(3) + NH. The transition state calculations indicate the roles of "outer" and "inner" transition states and yield rate constants between 20 and 320 K that are in moderate agreement with the experimental values. These calculations and those using the master equation approach show that the branching ratio for the most exothermic reaction, to H(2)CNH + H, is ca. 96% throughout the temperature range covered by the calculations, with those to HCNH(2) + H and CH(3) + NH being (4 ± 3)% and <0.3%, respectively. In the experiments, multiple photon dissociation of CHBr(3) was used to generate CH radicals and laser-induced fluorescence at 121.56 nm (VUV-LIF) was employed to observe H atoms. By comparing signals from CH + NH(3) with those from CH + CH(4), where the yield of H atoms is known to be unity, it is possible to estimate that the yield of H atoms from CH + NH(3) is equal to 0.89 ± 0.07 (2σ), in satisfactory agreement with the theoretical estimate.