C. Franklin Goldsmith

Temperature and Pressure-Dependent Rate Coefficients for the Reaction of Vinyl Radical with Molecular Oxygen

State-of-the-art calculations of the C2H3O2 potential energy surface are presented. A new method is described for computing the interaction potential for R + O2 reactions. The method, which combines accurate determination of the quartet potential along the doublet minimum energy path with multireference calculations of the doublet/quartet splitting, decreases the uncertainty in the doublet potential and thence the rate constants by more than a factor of 2. The temperature- and pressure-dependent rate coefficients are computed using variable reaction coordinate transition-state theory, variational transition-state theory, and conventional transition-state theory, as implemented in a new RRKM/ME code. The main bimolecular product channels are CH2O + HCO at lower temperatures and CH2CHO + O at higher temperatures. Above 10 atm, the collisional stabilization of CH2CHOO directly competes with these two product channels. CH2CHOO decomposes primarily to CH2O + HCO. The next two most significant bimolecular products are OCHCHO + H and (3)CHCHO + OH, and not C2H2 + HO2. C2H3 + O2 will be predominantly chain branching above 1700 K. Uncertainty analysis is presented for the two most important transition states. The uncertainties in these two barrier heights result in a significant uncertainty in the temperature at which CH2CHO + O overtakes all other product channels.

Decomposition and vibrational relaxation in CH3I and self-reaction of CH3 radicals.

Vibrational relaxation and dissociation of CH(3)I, 2-20% in krypton, have been investigated behind incident shock waves in a diaphragmless shock tube at 20, 66, 148, and 280 Torr and 630-2200 K by laser schlieren densitometry. The effective collision energy obtained from the vibrational relaxation experiments has a small, positive temperature dependence, DeltaE(down) = 63 x (T/298)(0.56) cm(-1). First-order rate coefficients for dissociation of CH(3)I show a strong pressure dependence and are close to the low-pressure limit. Restricted-rotor Gorin model RRKM calculations fit the experimental results very well with DeltaE(down) = 378 x (T/298)(0.457) cm(-1). The secondary chemistry of this reaction system is dominated by reactions of methyl radicals and the reaction of the H atom with CH(3)I. The results of the decomposition experiments are very well simulated with a model that incorporates methyl recombination and reactions of methylene. Second-order rate coefficients for ethane dissociation to two methyl radicals were derived from the experiments and yield k = (4.50 +/- 0.50) x 10(17) exp(-32709/T) cm(3) mol(-1) s(-1), in good agreement with previous measurements. Rate coefficients for H + CH(3)I were also obtained and give k = (7.50 +/- 1.0) x 10(13) exp(-601/T) cm(3) mol(-1) s(-1), in reasonable agreement with a previous experimental value.

Propargyl + O2 Reaction in Helium Droplets: Entrance Channel Barrier or Not?

A combination of liquid He droplet experiments and multireference electronic structure calculations is used to probe the potential energy surface for the reaction between the propargyl radical and O2. Infrared laser spectroscopy is used to probe the outcome of the low temperature, liquid He-mediated reaction. Bands in the spectrum are assigned to the acetylenic CH stretch (ν1), the symmetric CH2 stretch (ν2), and the antisymmetric CH2 stretch (ν13) of the trans-acetylenic propargyl peroxy radical ((•)OO-CH2-C≡CH). The observed band origins are in excellent agreement with previously reported anharmonic frequency computations for this species [Jochnowitz, E. B.; Zhang, X.; Nimlos, M. R.; Flowers, B. A.; Stanton, J. F.; Ellison, G. B. J. Phys. Chem. A 2010, 114, 1498]. The Stark spectrum of the ν1 band provides further evidence that the reaction leads only to the trans-acetylenic species. There are no other bands in the CH2 stretching region that can be attributed to any of the other three propargyl peroxy isomers/conformers that are predicted to be minimum energy structures (gauche-acetylenic, cis-allenic, and trans-allenic). There is also no evidence for the kinetic stabilization of a van der Waals complex between propargyl and O2. A combination of multireference and coupled-cluster electronic structure calculations is used to probe the potential energy surface in the neighborhood of the transition state connecting reactants with the acetylenic adduct. The multireference based evaluation of the doublet-quartet splitting added to the coupled-cluster calculated quartet state energies yields what are likely the most accurate predictions for the doublet potential curve. This calculation suggests that there is no saddle point for the addition process, in agreement with the experimental observations. Other calculations suggest the possible presence of a small submerged barrier.

Comment on “When Rate Constants Are Not Enough”

We discuss “phenomenological” reactions, rate constants, and flux coefficients in the context of their relationship to master-equation methods for obtaining rate constants. The isomerizationdissociation of 2-butene is used as an example for illustrating some of the pitfalls that can exist in trying to obtain rate constants from population-time histories alone (with associated, derivative quantities such as flux coefficients). We attach a considerable amount of Supporting Information that elaborates on some of the key points made in the text. Included in the Supporting Information is a description of two methods for obtaining rate constants from the master equation when its transition matrix is not readily available.

New Insights into Low-Temperature Oxidation of Propane from Synchrotron Photoionization Mass Spectrometry and Multiscale Informatics Modeling

Low-temperature propane oxidation was studied at P = 4 Torr and T = 530, 600, and 670 K by time-resolved multiplexed photoionization mass spectrometry (MPIMS), which probes the reactants, intermediates, and products with isomeric selectivity using tunable synchrotron vacuum UV ionizing radiation. The oxidation is initiated by pulsed laser photolysis of oxalyl chloride, (COCl)2, at 248 nm, which rapidly generates a ∼1:1 mixture of 1-propyl (n-propyl) and 2-propyl (i-propyl) radicals via the fast Cl + propane reaction. At all three temperatures, the major stable product species is propene, formed in the propyl + O2 reactions by direct HO2 elimination from both n- and i-propyl peroxy radicals. The experimentally derived propene yields relative to the initial concentration of Cl atoms are (20 ± 4)% at 530 K, (55 ± 11)% at 600 K, and (86 ± 17)% at 670 K at a reaction time of 20 ms. The lower yield of propene at low temperature reflects substantial formation of propyl peroxy radicals, which do not completely decompose on the experimental time scale. In addition, C3H6O isomers methyloxirane, oxetane, acetone, and propanal are detected as minor products. Our measured yields of oxetane and methyloxirane, which are coproducts of OH radicals, suggest a revision of the OH formation pathways in models of low-temperature propane oxidation. The experimental results are modeled and interpreted using a multiscale informatics approach, presented in detail in a separate publication (Burke, M. P.; Goldsmith, C. F.; Klippenstein, S. J.; Welz, O.; Huang H.; Antonov I. O.; Savee J. D.; Osborn D. L.; Zádor, J.; Taatjes, C. A.; Sheps, L. Multiscale Informatics for Low-Temperature Propane Oxidation: Further Complexities in Studies of Complex Reactions. J. Phys. Chem A. 2015, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.5b01003). The model predicts the time profiles and yields of the experimentally observed primary products well, and shows satisfactory agreement for products formed mostly via secondary radical-radical reactions.

Pressure and temperature dependence of the reaction of vinyl radical with alkenes III: measured rates and predicted product distributions for vinyl + butene.

This work reports experimental and theoretical first-order rate constants for the reaction of vinyl radical with C(4)H(8) alkenes: 1-butene, 2-butene, and isobutene. The experiments are performed over a temperature range of 300 to 700 K at 100 Torr. Vinyl radicals (H(2)C horizontal lineCH) were generated by laser photolysis of vinyl iodide (C(2)H(3)I) at 266 nm, and time-resolved absorption spectroscopy was used to probe vinyl radicals at 423.2 and 475 nm. Weighted Arrhenius fits to the experimental rate coefficients for 1-butene (k(1)), 2-butene (k(2)), and isobutene (k(3)) yield k(1) = (1.3 +/- 0.3) x 10(-12) cm(3) molecules(-1) s(-1) exp[-(2200 +/- 120) K/T]; k(2) = (1.7 +/- 0.3) x 10(-12) cm(3) molecules(-1) s(-1) exp[-(2610 +/- 120) K/T]; and k(3) = (1.0 +/- 0.1) x 10(-12) cm(3) molecules(-1) s(-1) exp[-(2130 +/- 50) K/T], respectively. C(6)H(11) potential energy surfaces (PESs) for each system were calculated using the G3 method. RRKM/ME simulations were performed for each system to predict pressure-dependent rate coefficients and branching fractions for the major channels. A generic rate rule for vinyl addition to various alkenes is recommended; a similar rate rule for the abstraction of H atoms by vinyl from alkenes is also provided. Some of the vinyl addition reactions exhibit anomalous Evans-Polanyi plots similar to those reported for previous methyl addition reactions.

Chemical Kinetics of Hydrogen Atom Abstraction from Allylic Sites by 3O2; Implications for Combustion Modeling and Simulation

Hydrogen atom abstraction from allylic C-H bonds by molecular oxygen plays a very important role in determining the reactivity of fuel molecules having allylic hydrogen atoms. Rate constants for hydrogen atom abstraction by molecular oxygen from molecules with allylic sites have been calculated. A series of molecules with primary, secondary, tertiary, and super secondary allylic hydrogen atoms of alkene, furan, and alkylbenzene families are taken into consideration. Those molecules include propene, 2-butene, isobutene, 2-methylfuran, and toluene containing the primary allylic hydrogen atom; 1-butene, 1-pentene, 2-ethylfuran, ethylbenzene, and n-propylbenzene containing the secondary allylic hydrogen atom; 3-methyl-1-butene, 2-isopropylfuran, and isopropylbenzene containing tertiary allylic hydrogen atom; and 1-4-pentadiene containing super allylic secondary hydrogen atoms. The M06-2X/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory was used to optimize the geometries of all of the reactants, transition states, products and also the hinder rotation treatments for lower frequency modes. The G4 level of theory was used to calculate the electronic single point energies for those species to determine the 0 K barriers to reaction. Conventional transition state theory with Eckart tunnelling corrections was used to calculate the rate constants. The comparison between our calculated rate constants with the available experimental results from the literature shows good agreement for the reactions of propene and isobutene with molecular oxygen. The rate constant for toluene with O2 is about an order magnitude slower than that experimentally derived from a comprehensive model proposed by Oehlschlaeger and coauthors. The results clearly indicate the need for a more detailed investigation of the combustion kinetics of toluene oxidation and its key pyrolysis and oxidation intermediates. Despite this, our computed barriers and rate constants retain an important internal consistency. Rate constants calculated in this work have also been used in predicting the reactivity of the target fuels of 1-butene, 2-butene, isobutene, 2-methylfuran, 2,5-dimethylfuran, and toluene, and the results show that the ignition delay times for those fuels have been increased by a factor of 1.5-3. This work provides a first systematic study of one of the key initiation reaction for compounds containing allylic hydrogen atoms.

An Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Thermal Decomposition of C4H6 Isomers

The chemistry of small unsaturated hydrocarbons, such as 1,3-butadiene (1,3-C4H6), 1,2-butadiene (1,2-C4H6), 2-butyne (2-C4H6), and 1-butyne (1-C4H6), is of central importance to the modeling of combustion systems. These species are important intermediates in combustion processes, and yet their high-temperature chemistry remains poorly understood, with various dissociation and isomerization pathways proposed in the literature. Here we investigate the thermal decompositions of 1,3-C4H6, 1,2-C4H6, 2-C4H6, and 1-C4H6 inside a diaphragmless shock tube, at postshock total pressures of 26-261 Torr and temperatures ranging from 1428 to 2354 K, using laser schlieren densitometry. The experimental work was complemented by high-level ab initio calculations, which collectively provide strong evidence that formally direct dissociation is the major channel for pyrolysis of 1,3-C4H6 and 2-C4H6; these paths have not been previously reported but are critical to reconciling the current work and disparate literature reports. The reaction mechanism presented here simulates the current experiments and experimental data from the literature very well. Pressure- and temperature-dependent rate coefficients are given for the isomerization, formally direct, and direct dissociation paths.

A combined photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and laser absorption spectrometry flash photolysis apparatus for simultaneous determination of reaction rates and product branching

In recent years, predictions of product branching for reactions of consequence to both combustion and atmospheric chemistry have outpaced validating experiments. An apparatus is described that aims to fill this void by combining several well-known experimental techniques into one: flash photolysis for radical generation, multiple-pass laser absorption spectrometry (LAS) for overall kinetics measurements, and time-resolved photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PI TOF-MS) for product branching quantification. The sensitivity of both the LAS and PI TOF-MS detection techniques is shown to be suitable for experiments with initial photolytically generated radical concentrations of ∼1 × 1012 molecules cm-3. As it is fast (μs time resolution) and non-intrusive, LAS is preferred for accurate kinetics (time-dependence) measurements. By contrast, PI TOF-MS is preferred for product quantification because it provides a near-complete picture of the reactor composition in a single mass spectrum. The value of simultaneous LAS and PI TOF-MS detection is demonstrated for the chemically interesting phenyl radical + propene system.

The impact of roaming radicals on the combustion properties of transportation fuels

Abstract A systematic investigation on the effects of roaming radical reactions on global combustion properties for transportation fuels is presented. New software was developed that can automatically predict all the possible roaming pathways within a given chemical kinetic mechanism. This novel approach was applied to two mechanisms taken from the literature, one for heptane and one for butanol. Ignition delay times and laminar flame speeds were computed over a broad range of conditions, while testing varying degrees of roaming. As the degree of roaming is increased, the ignition delays increased, consistent with the hypothesis that roaming decreases the reactivity of the system. The percent increase in the ignition delay is strongly temperature dependent, with the largest effect seen in the negative temperature coefficient regime. Outside of this temperature range, the effect of roaming on global combustion properties is small, on the order of a few percent for ignition delays and less than a percent for flame speeds. The software that was used to create the new mechanisms and test the effects of roaming on combustion properties are freely available, with detailed tutorials that will enable it to be applied to fuels other than heptane and butanol.