The pressure dependence of ion–molecule association rate coefficients

Abstract

Two new techniques are presented for calculating the pressure dependence of ion/molecule association rates: (i) a semiclassical method of incorporating the effect of the hindered dipole rotation into an RRKM calculation of the microscopic rate coefficients k(E,J), and (ii) a solution for the master equation for unimolecular dissociation and recombination reactions, which incorporates angular momentum (J) conservation and is applicable when the moments of inertia of reactant and activated complex differ by a large amount. These techniques provide the optimal currently available means for calculating the pressure dependence of rate coefficients for ion–molecule reactions, which are highly sensitive to J-conservation effects. The method may be used for reliable estimates and fitting of experimental fall-off data. The new technique shows that Troe’s solution of the low-pressure J-conserving master equation is accurate for the nonequilibrium population distribution but overestimates (by up to a factor of 2) the rate coefficient; extensions to Troe’s method to provide more accurate analytical approximations are derived. Application is presented to the association of CH3+ with HCN. The experimental pressure dependence, which cannot be fitted without proper accounting for J conservation, is fitted using the new treatment with values of ∼125 cm−1 for the average downward energy transfer for both rotational and internal energies. The new J-conservation method is also applicable to reactions of neutrals where the moment of inertia of the activated complex is more than six times that of the stable reactant.