Transition State Barrier Heights Research Articles

Revealing new pathways for the reaction of Criegee intermediate CH2OO with SO2

Criegee intermediates play an important role in the tropospheric oxidation models through their reactions with atmospheric trace chemicals. We develop a global full-dimensional potential energy surface for the CH2OO + SO2 system and reveal how the reaction happens step by step by quasi-classical trajectory simulations. A new pathway forming the main products (CH2O + SO3) and a new product channel (CO2 + H2 + SO2) are predicted in our simulations. The new pathway appears at collision energies greater than 10 kcal/mol whose behavior demonstrates a typical barrier-controlled reaction. This threshold is also consistent with the ab initio transition state barrier height. For the minor products, a loose complex OCH2O ∙ ∙ ∙ SO2 is formed first, and then in most cases it soon turns into HCOOH + SO2, in a few cases it decomposes into CO2 + H2 + SO2 which is a new product channel, and rarely it remains as ∙OCH2O ∙ + SO2.

Test of the orbital-based LI3 index as a predictor of the height of the [formula omitted]MLCT [formula omitted][formula omitted]MC transition-state barrier for gas-phase [Ru(N[formula omitted]N)[formula omitted]][formula omitted] polypyridine complexes

Ruthenium(II) polypyridine compounds often luminesce, with ligand-dependant lifetimes. This is the third in a series of papers devoted to finding orbital-based luminescence indices (LI) for predicting luminescence lifetimes. The third attempt (LI3) was based upon a frontier molecular orbital (FMO) like estimate of the height of the barrier to conversion from an initial phosophorescent triplet metal-ligand charge transfer (3MLCT) state to a nonluminescent triplet metal-centered (3MC) state which decays nonradiatively. A linear correlation was found between LI3 and extracted empirical average 3MLCT →3MC transition state (TS) barrier heights (Eaves) which were not believed to be quantitative but which were believed to capture the trends in the true barrier heights correctly. As it is known that Eave is a large underestimate of the true 3MLCT →3MC TS barrier height in the case of the trisbipyridine ruthenium(II) cation { [Ru(bpy)3]2+ }, but accurate TS barrier heights are difficult to obtain experimentally, it was judged useful to verify the ideas used to derive the LI3 index in the present work by calculating the energetics of the gas-phase 3MLCT →3MC reaction for a series of ruthenium(II) tris bipyridine complexes using the same density functional and basis sets used in calculating LI3. Specifically, four closely-related bipyridine complexes { [Ru(N∧N)3]2+ with N∧N = bpy (6), 4,4’-dm-bpy (70), 4,4’-dph-bpy (73), and 4,4’-DTB-bpy (74) } were used for these calculations. In the process, we examined the gas-phase trans dissociation mechanism in greater detail than has been previously done and uncovered a two part mechanism. In the first part, the electron is transferred to a single ligand rather than symmetrically to all three ligands. It is the two Ru-N bonds to this ligand which are equally elongated in the transition state. The intrinsic reaction coordinate then continues down a ridge in hyperspace and bifurcates into one of two symmetry-equivalent 3MC structures with elongated trans bonds. Interestingly, no significant difference is found for the TS barriers for the four complexes treated here. Instead, LI3 is linearly correlated with the energy difference ΔE=E(3MLCT)−E(3MC), different from what was originally intended but still consistent with the FMO arguments underlying the derivation of LI3.

Thermochemistry and Kinetics of the Atmospheric Oxidation Reactions of Propanesulfinyl Chloride Initiated by OH Radicals: A Computational Approach.

The thermochemistry and kinetics of the atmospheric oxidation mechanism for propanesulfinyl chloride (CH3-CH2-CH2-S(═O)Cl; PSICl) initiated by the hydroxyl (OH) radical were investigated with high level quantum chemistry calculations and the Master equation solver for multi-energy well reaction (Mesmer) kinetic code. The mechanism for the oxidation of PSICl in the presence of OH radical can proceed via H-abstraction and substitution pathways. The CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pV(T+d)Z//MP2/aug-cc-pV(T+d)Z level calculated energies revealed addition of the OH radical to the S-atom of the sulfinyl (-S(═O)) moiety, followed by cleavage of the Cl-S(═O) single bond, leading to formation of propanesulfinic acid (PSIA) and the Cl radical to be the major pathway when compared to all other possible channels. The transition state barrier height for this reaction was found to be -3.0 kcal mol-1 relative to the energy of the starting PSICl + OH radical reactants. The rate coefficients were calculated for all possible paths in the atmospherically relevant temperature range of 200-320 K and at 1 atm. The rate coefficient for the formation of the PSIA + Cl radical from the PSICl + OH radical reaction was found to be 8.2 × 10-12 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 at 298 K and a pressure of 1 atm. From branching ratio calculations, it was revealed that the reaction resulting in the formation of the PSIA + Cl radical contributed ∼52% to the total reaction. The overall rate coefficient for the PSICl + OH reaction was also calculated and found to be 1.6 × 10-11 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 at 298 K and a pressure of 1 atm. In the aggregate, the results indicate the atmospheric lifetime of PSICl to be ∼12-20 h in the temperature range between 200 and 320 K, which suggests that its contribution to global warming is negligible. However, the degradation products revealed to be formed in its interactions with the OH radical, which include that SO2, Cl radical, HO2 radical, and propylene have significant effects on the formation of acid rain, secondary organic aerosols, the ozone layer, and global warming.

The mechanism of photoconversion of cyclic dinitrone to oxaziridine and dioxaziridine: A computational investigation of an experimentally reported photochemical reaction

AbstractThe unexplored photochemistry behind the conversion of cyclic dinitrone to oxaziridine and dioxaziridine has been investigated computationally. The mechanism behind the experimentally reported photo‐conversion reaction of 2,2,4,5‐tetramethyl‐2H‐imidazole‐1,3‐dioxide has been analyzed. The allowed S0‐S1 transition in this cyclic dinitrone system is characterized by a transition moment value of 3 Debye. The photo‐excitation to the vertically excited S1 state is subsequently followed by a passage through low‐lying conical intersection(S0/S1). This photoproduct oxaziridine can undergo reverse transformation to the parent dinitrone through a transition state (barrier height 30–40 kcal/mol) with imaginary frequency value close to 1000i cm−1. Under photo‐irradiation, oxaziridine of this dioxide system can undergo strongly allowed singlet‐singlet transition, characterized by HOMO LUMO excitation with transition moment value close to 2.70 Debye. Subsequently, formations of the trans‐ and cis‐dioxaziridines take place through S0/S1 conical intersections.

Ribosome Elongation Kinetics of Consecutively Charged Residues Are Coupled to Electrostatic Force.

The speed of protein synthesis can dramatically change when consecutively charged residues are incorporated into an elongating nascent protein by the ribosome. The molecular origins of this class of allosteric coupling remain unknown. We demonstrate, using multiscale simulations, that positively charged residues generate large forces that move the P-site amino acid away from the A-site amino acid. Negatively charged residues generate forces of similar magnitude but move the A- and P-sites closer together. These conformational changes, respectively, increase and decrease the transition state barrier height to peptide bond formation, explaining how charged residues mechanochemically alter translation speed. This mechanochemical mechanism is consistent with in vivo ribosome profiling data exhibiting proportionality between translation speed and the number of charged residues, experimental data characterizing nascent chain conformations, and a previously published cryo-EM structure of a ribosome-nascent chain complex containing consecutive lysines. These results expand the role of mechanochemistry in translation and provide a framework for interpreting experimental results on translation speed.

Equilibrium folding and unfolding dynamics to reveal detailed free energy landscape of src SH3 protein by magnetic tweezers* *Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11874309 and 11474237) and the 111 Project (Grant No. B16029).

Src SH3 protein domain is a typical two-state protein which has been confirmed by research of denaturant-induced unfolding dynamics. Force spectroscopy experiments by optical tweezers and atomic force microscopy have measured the force-dependent unfolding rates with different kinds of pulling geometry. However, the equilibrium folding and unfolding dynamics at constant forces has not been reported. Here, using stable magnetic tweezers, we performed equilibrium folding and unfolding dynamic measurement and force-jump measurement of src SH3 domain with tethering points at its N- and C-termini. From the obtained force-dependent transition rates, a detailed two-state free energy landscape of src SH3 protein is constructed with quantitative information of folding free energy, transition state barrier height and position, which exemplifies the capability of magnetic tweezers to study protein folding and unfolding dynamics.

Old School Techniques with Modern Capabilities: Kinetics Determination of Dynamical Information Such as Barriers, Multiple Entrance Channel Complexes, Product States, Spin Crossings, and Size Effects in Metallic Ion-Molecule Reactions.

We show how the powerful combination of temperature-dependent kinetics coupled with detailed statistical modeling can be used to derive dynamical information about transition state barrier heights, the importance of multiple entrance channel complexes, crossings between spin surfaces, energetics, product states, and other information for metal-ion reactions. The methods are not new, but with improved computers, ion sources, ion transport, and better detection techniques, the ability to derive such parameters from the combination of methods has improved greatly. Temperature-dependent kinetics is very sensitive to the above list of parameters because the energy is varied in a controlled way that can be easily modeled. The present measurements, performed in our variable-ion source temperature-adjustable selected-ion flow tube (VISTA-SIFT), have been enabled by advances in ion transport and injection improvements so that dim sources can be used. Replacing the quadrupole mass spectrometer detector with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer solved additional problems. Quantum chemical calculations have improved greatly and provide details about the surfaces, as well as frequencies, to use as starting points for the statistical modeling. For ion-molecule reactions, incorporation of both energy and angular momentum effects are important and we have developed an in-house computer program, based on the work of Juergen Troe, to rapidly compare statistical modeling predictions to the experimental data. As we show, modeling the kinetics data can often determine the most important parameters controlling the reactivity and deriving them is much simpler and usually more accurate than detailed ab initio calculations or dynamical modeling. Additionally, we show that even without statistical modeling, temperature-dependent rate constants as a function of metal anion cluster size can be used to show that such species react by the same mechanism as surfaces. In this review, we discuss reactions of metallic atomic ions, small metal oxide ions, mixed metal oxide ions, and a series of metallic anionic cluster reactions with small molecules such as CO, O2, CO2, N2O, CH4, and several other species. Particular attention was paid to reactions involving bond activation pertinent to catalysis.

Conformational design concepts for anions in ionic liquids.

The identification of specific design concepts for the in silico design of ionic liquids (ILs) has been accomplished using theoretical methods. Molecular building blocks, such as interchangeable functional groups, are used to design a priori new ILs which have subsequently been experimentally investigated. The conformational design concepts are developed by separately and systematically changing the central (imide), bridging (sulfonyl) and end (trifluoromethyl) group of the bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide [N(Tf)2]− anion and examining the resultant potential energy surfaces. It is shown that these design concepts can be used to tune separately the minimum energy geometry, transition state barrier height and relative stability of different conformers. The insights obtained have been used to design two novel anions for ILs, trifluoroacetyl(methylsulfonyl)imide [N(Ms)(TFA)]− and acetyl(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide [N(Tf)(Ac)]−. The computationally predicted structures show excellent agreement with experimental structures obtained from X-ray crystallography. [C4C1im][N(Tf)(Ac)] and [C4C1im][N(Ms)(TFA)] ILs have been synthesised and ion diffusion coefficients examined using pulsed field gradient stimulated echo NMR spectroscopy. Significantly increased diffusion was observed for the more flexible [N(Tf)(Ac)]− compared with the more rigid [N(Ms)(TFA)]− analogue. Furthermore, a pronounced impact on the fluidity was observed. The viscosity of the IL with the rigid anion was found to be twice as high as the viscosity of the IL with the flexible anion. The design concepts presented in this work will enable researchers in academia and industry to tailor anions to provide ILs with specific desired properties.

Toward Atomistic Modeling of Irreversible Covalent Inhibitor Binding Kinetics.

Covalent inhibitors have emerged as an important drug class in recent years, largely due to their many unique advantages as compared to noncovalent inhibitors, including longer duration of action, lower prolonged systemic exposure, higher potency, and selectivity. However, the potential off-target toxicity of covalent inhibitors, particularly of irreversible covalent inhibitors, represents a great challenge in covalent drug development. Therefore, accurate calculation of protein covalent inhibitor reaction kinetics to guide the design of selective inhibitors would greatly benefit covalent drug discovery efforts. In the present paper, we present a computational method to calculate the relative reaction kinetics between congeneric irreversible covalent inhibitors and their protein receptors. The method combines density functional theory calculations of the transition state barrier height of the rate-limiting step for reaction between the warhead of the inhibitor and a single protein residue, and molecular-mechanics-based free energy calculations to account for the interactions between the ligand in the transition state and the protein environment. The method was tested on four pharmaceutically interesting irreversible covalent binding systems involving 28 ligands; the mean unsigned error (MUE) of the relative reaction rate for all pairs of ligands between the predictions and experimental results for these tested systems is 0.79 log unit. This is to our knowledge the first time where the reaction kinetics of protein irreversible covalent inhibition have been directly calculated with physics-based free energy calculation methods and transition state theory. We anticipate the outstanding accuracy demonstrated here across a broad range of target classes will have a strong impact on the design of selective covalent inhibitors.

CH Stretch Activation of CH3CHOO: Deep Tunneling to Hydroxyl Radical Products.

Alkene ozonolysis, an important source of hydroxyl (OH) radicals in the Earth's troposphere, proceeds through unimolecular decay of Criegee intermediates. In this work, infrared activation of the methyl-substituted Criegee intermediate, syn-CH3CHOO, in the CH stretch fundamental region (2850-3150 cm-1) is shown to result in unimolecular decay to OH radical products. These excitation energies correspond to only half of the transition state barrier height, and thus the resultant 1,4 H atom transfer that leads to OH products occurs exclusively by quantum mechanical tunneling. Infrared action spectra recorded with UV laser-induced fluorescence detection of the OH products reveal the four CH stretch fundamentals and CO stretch overtone predicted to have strong transition strength. The vibrational band origins, relative intensities, and transition types derived from rotational band contour analyses are in good accord with theory. Distinctly different Lorentzian line broadening of the observed features is attributed to mode-specific anharmonic couplings predicted theoretically between spectroscopically bright and nearby dark states. The measured OH product state distribution shows a strong λ-doublet preference arising from pπ orbital alignment, which is indicative of the vinyl hydroperoxide intermediate along the reaction pathway. The unimolecular decay of syn-CH3CHOO at ca. 3000 cm-1 is predicted to be quite slow (ca. 105 s-1) using statistical Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus theory with tunneling and much slower than observed at higher energies.

Theoretical Study on the Kinetics for the Reactions of Heptyl Radicals with Methanol

Ab initio study of the reactions of n-heptyl radicals(1-C7H15, 2-C7H15, 3-C7H15, and 4-C7H15) with methanol was conducted over the temperature range of 300–1500 K. Transition states for the reaction channels producing C7H15OH, CH3, C7H15OCH3, H, C7H16, CH2OH and CH3O were identified and the geometries of all stationary points were calculated at BB1K/MG3S level of theory. The potential barrier heights of the corresponding transition states were predicted by the CBS-QB3//BB1K and G4//BB1K methods, indicating that the eight H-abstraction channels are more kinetically favorable than the channels where OH transfers from CH3OH to C7H15 and where the C7H15OCH3+H products are given. The rate constants of H-abstraction channels were calculated with TST and TST/Eck. Both the forward and reverse rate constants have positive temperature dependence and the tunneling effect is only important at the temperature lower than 700 K. For the reactions of H-atom abstraction from methyl in CH3OH by n-heptyl, a reverse and the corresponding forward rate constant are roughly equal. For the reactions of H-atom abstraction from OH in CH3OH by n-heptyl, a reverse rate constant is larger by several orders of magnitude than the corresponding forward one.

Ab initio and direct dynamics study on the hydrogen abstraction reaction C2H3 + CH3CHO

The mechanism for the hydrogen abstraction reaction C2H3+CH3CHO has been investigated by the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ method based on the geometries of stationary points optimized at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. Two abstraction channels have been identified for the production of C2H4+CH2CHO and C2H4+CH3CO. The potential barrier heights of the corresponding transition states TSR/P1 and TSR/P2 were predicted to be 9.47 and 5.95kcal/mol at the CCSD(T)//B3LYP level of theory, respectively. The rate constants and branching ratios for the two H-abstraction channels were calculated using conventional transition state theory with Eckart tunneling correction at the temperature range 300–2500K. The predicted rate constants have been compared with available literature data. Both the forward and reverse rate constants have positive temperature dependence and the tunneling effect is only important at low temperatures. The branching ratio calculation shows that the channel producing C2H4+CH3CO remains predominant throughout the entire studied temperature range.

Ab initio and direct dynamics study on the C2H3 + CH3CH2OH reaction

ABSTRACTThe mechanism for the C2H3 + CH3CH2OH reaction has been investigated by the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ method based on the geometries of stationary points optimised at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d, p) level of theory. Five reaction channels have been identified for the production of C2H4 + CH2CH2OH, C2H4 + CH3CH2O, C2H4 + CH3CHOH, C2H3OH + CH3CH2, and C2H3OCH2CH3 + H (denoted as channels (1)–(5), respectively). The potential barrier heights of the corresponding transition states TSR/P1, TSR/P2, TSR/P3, TSR/P4 and TSR/P5 were predicted to be 12.40, 8.50, 8.11, 38.38 and 42.21 kcal/mol at the CCSD(T)//B3LYP level of theory, respectively. The rate constants and branching ratios for the three lower energy H-abstraction channels were calculated using conventional transition state theory with Eckart tunnelling correction at the temperature range 300–2500 K. The predicted rate constants have been compared with the available literature data. Both the forward and reverse rate constants have positive temperature dependence, and the tunnelling effect is only important at low temperatures. The branching ratio calculation shows that channel (2) is predominant and channel (3) is less competitive, while channel (1) is almost neglectable at low temperatures. However, all three channels are important in high-temperature region.

Mechanism of thyroxine deiodination by naphthyl-based iodothyronine deiodinase mimics and the halogen bonding role: a DFT investigation.

This paper deals with a systematic density functional theory (DFT) study aiming to unravel the mechanism of the thyroxine (T4) conversion into 3,3',5-triiodothyronine (rT3) by using different bio-inspired naphthyl-based models, which are able to reproduce the catalytic functions of the type-3 deiodinase ID-3. Such naphthalenes, having two selenols, two thiols, and a selenol-thiol pair in peri positions, which were previously synthesized and tested in their deiodinase activity, are able to remove iodine selectively from the inner ring of T4 to produce rT3. Calculations were performed including also an imidazole ring that, mimicking the role of the His residue, plays an essential role deprotonating the selenol/thiol moiety. For all the used complexes, the calculated potential energy surfaces show that the reaction proceeds via an intermediate, characterized by the presence of a X-I-C (X=Se, S) halogen bond, whose transformation into a subsequent intermediate in which the C-I bond is definitively cleaved and the incipient X-I bond is formed represents the rate-determining step of the whole process. The calculated trend in the barrier heights of the corresponding transition states allows us to rationalize the experimentally observed superior deiodinase activity of the naphthyl-based compound with two selenol groups. The role of the peri interactions between chalcogen atoms appears to be less prominent in determining the deiodination activity.

Prediction of a neutral noble gas compound in the triplet state.

Discovery of the HArF molecule associated with H-Ar covalent bonding [Nature, 2000, 406, 874-876] has revolutionized the field of noble gas chemistry. In general, this class of noble gas compound involving conventional chemical bonds exists as closed-shell species in a singlet electronic state. For the first time, in a bid to predict neutral noble gas chemical compounds in their triplet electronic state, we have carried out a systematic investigation of xenon inserted FN and FP species by using quantum chemical calculations with density functional theory and various post-Hartree-Fock-based correlated methods, including the multireference configuration interaction technique. The FXeP and FXeN species are predicted to be stable by all the computational methods employed in the present work, such as density functional theory (DFT), second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2), coupled-cluster theory (CCSD(T)), and multireference configuration interaction (MRCI). For the purpose of comparison we have also included the Kr-inserted compounds of FN and FP species. Geometrical parameters, dissociation energies, transition-state barrier heights, atomic charge distributions, vibrational frequency data, and atoms-in-molecules properties clearly indicate that it is possible to experimentally realize the most stable state of FXeP and FXeN molecules, which is triplet in nature, through the matrix isolation technique under cryogenic conditions.

Rate of hydrolysis in ATP synthase is fine-tuned by α-subunit motif controlling active site conformation

Computer-designed artificial enzymes will require precise understanding of how conformation of active sites may control barrier heights of key transition states, including dependence on structure and dynamics at larger molecular scale. F(o)F(1) ATP synthase is interesting as a model system: a delicate molecular machine synthesizing or hydrolyzing ATP using a rotary motor. Isolated F(1) performs hydrolysis with a rate very sensitive to ATP concentration. Experimental and theoretical results show that, at low ATP concentrations, ATP is slowly hydrolyzed in the so-called tight binding site, whereas at higher concentrations, the binding of additional ATP molecules induces rotation of the central γ-subunit, thereby forcing the site to transform through subtle conformational changes into a loose binding site in which hydrolysis occurs faster. How the 1-Å-scale rearrangements are controlled is not yet fully understood. By a combination of theoretical approaches, we address how large macromolecular rearrangements may manipulate the active site and how the reaction rate changes with active site conformation. Simulations reveal that, in response to γ-subunit position, the active site conformation is fine-tuned mainly by small α-subunit changes. Quantum mechanics-based results confirm that the sub-Ångström gradual changes between tight and loose binding site structures dramatically alter the hydrolysis rate.

Increasing the applicability of DFT I: Non-variational correlation corrections from Hartree–Fock DFT for predicting transition states

Hartree–Fock DFT (HF-DFT) uses the self-interaction error free HF density and DFT functional. Using HF-DFT for molecular structure determination requires a non-variational analytical gradient scheme. This has been developed and applied for the calculation of transition state geometries and barrier heights for chemical reactions. The barrier heights obtained show average absolute errors (AAE) of 2–3kcal/mol while ΛCCSD(T) show an AAE of 1.1–1.4kcal/mol. Standard variational DFT with the same functional has AAE’s of 6.3–8.3kcal/mol while the HF errors are about 12kcal/mol.

Dehydrogenation of Methane by Gas-Phase Th, Th+, and Th2+: Theoretical Insights into Actinide Chemistry

Unrestricted density functional theory calculations have been carried out to investigate the reactivity of Th, Th+, and Th2+ toward the methane dehydrogenation process. A close description of the reaction mechanisms together with the analysis of the electronic factors offer insights into the reactivity of the thorium species. All possible spin states of the metal centers were considered as well as the effect of spin−orbit interactions on the transition-state barrier heights. The three reactions investigated are found to be exothermic, with the best thermochemical conditions observed for Th2+ around 105 kJ mol−1. The Th+ + CH4 reaction is found to be kinetically more favorable than that for the neutral Th atom. The DFT results indicate a direct participation of 5f electrons/orbitals in the reactivity of thorium species. The presence of electrons in 5f orbitals has an important effect on the insertion activation barrier, providing an electrostatic repulsion toward the closed-shell methane. The NBO results show that 5f orbitals play an important role in the overall strengths of the Th−C and Th−H chemical bonds, favoring thermochemical conditions of these reactions.

Quantum Chemical Study of the Acrolein (CH2CHCHO) + OH + O2 Reactions

Acrolein, a beta-unsaturated (acrylic) aldehyde, is one of the simplest multifunctional molecules, containing both alkene and aldehyde groups. Acrolein is an atmospheric pollutant formed in the photochemical oxidation of the anthropogenic VOC 1,3-butadiene, and serves as a model compound for methacrolein (MACR) and methyl vinyl ketone (MVK), the major oxidation products of the biogenic VOC isoprene. In addition, acrolein is involved in combustion and biological oxidation processes. This study presents a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the acrolein + OH + O(2) addition reactions, which is a key photochemical oxidation sequence, using the G3SX and CBS-QB3 theoretical methods. Both ab initio protocols provide relatively similar results, although the CBS-QB3 method systematically under-predicts literature heats of formation using atomization enthalpies, and also provides lower transition state barrier heights. Several new low-energy pathways for unimolecular reaction of the acrolein-OH-O(2) radicals are identified, with energy at around or below that of the acrolein-OH isomers + O(2). In each case these novel reactions have the potential to reform the hydroxyl radical (OH) and form coproducts that include glyoxal, glycolaldehyde (HOCH(2)CHO), formaldehyde (HCHO), CO, and substituted epoxides. Analogous reaction schemes are developed for the photochemical oxidation of MACR and MVK, producing a number of observed oxidation products. The reaction MACR + OH + O(2) --> hydroxyacetone + OH + CO is expected to be of particular importance. This study also proposes that O(2) addition to chemically activated acrolein-OH adducts can provide prompt regeneration of OH in the atmospheric oxidation of acrolein, via a double activation mechanism. This mechanism can also be extended to isoprene, MVK, and MACR. The importance of the novel chemistry revealed here in the atmospheric oxidation of acrolein and other structurally related OVOCs and VOCs requires further investigation. Additionally, a critical evaluation of the acrolein heat of formation is presented, and a new value of -16.7 +/- 1.0 kcal mol(-1) is recommended along with other thermochemical properties, from a W1 level calculation.

First Principles Dynamics and Minimum Energy Pathways for Mechanochemical Ring Opening of Cyclobutene

We use ab initio steered molecular dynamics to investigate the mechanically induced ring opening of cyclobutene. We show that the dynamical results can be considered in terms of a force-modified potential energy surface (FMPES). We show how the minimal energy paths for the two possible competing conrotatory and disrotatory ring-opening reactions are affected by external force. We also locate minimal energy pathways in the presence of applied external force and show that the reactant, product, and transition state geometries are altered by the application of external force. The largest effects are on the transition state geometries and barrier heights. Our results provide a framework for future investigations of the role of external force on chemical reactivity.