Theoretical Study on Decomposition of CF3OH Catalyzed by Water Dimer and Ammonia

Abstract

The G3 and CBS-QB3 theoretical methods are employed to study the decomposition of CF3OH into FCFO and HF by water, water dimmer, and ammonia. The decomposition of CF3OH into FCFO and HF is unlikely to occur in the atmosphere due to the high activated energy of 88.7 kJ/mol at the G3 level of theory. However, the computed results predict that the barrier for unimolecular decomposition of CF3OH is decreased to 25.1 kJ/mol from 188.7 kJ/mol with the aid of NH3 at the G3 level of theory, which shows that the ammonia play a strong catalytic effect on the split of CF3OH. In addition, the calculated rate constants show that the decomposition of CF3OH by NH3 is faster than those of H2O and the water dimmer by 109 and 105 times respectively. The rate constants combined with the corresponding concentrations of these species demonstrate that the reaction CF3OH with NH3 via TS4 is of great importance for the decomposition of CF3OH in the atmosphere.