The Effects of Water Vapor on the CH3O2Self-Reaction and Reaction with HO2

Abstract

The gas phase reactions of CH3O2 + CH3O2, HO2 + HO2, and CH3O2 + HO2 in the presence of water vapor have been studied at temperatures between 263 and 303 K using laser flash photolysis coupled with UV time-resolved absorption detection at 220 and 260 nm. Water vapor concentrations were quantified using tunable diode laser spectroscopy operating in the mid-IR. The HO2 self-reaction rate constant is significantly enhanced by water vapor, consistent with what others have reported, whereas the CH3O2 self-reaction and the cross-reaction (CH3O2 + HO2) rate constants are nearly unaffected. The enhancement in the HO2 self-reaction rate coefficient occurs because of the formation of a strongly bound (6.9 kcal mol(-1)) HO2 x H2O complex during the reaction mechanism where the H2O acts as an energy chaperone. The nominal impact of water vapor on the CH3O2 self-reaction rate coefficient is consistent with recent high level ab initio calculations that predict a weakly bound CH3O2 x H2O complex (2.3 kcal mol(-1)). The smaller binding energy of the CH3O2 x H2O complex does not favor its formation and consequent participation in the methyl peroxy self-reaction mechanism.