Mica C. Smith

The UV absorption spectrum of the simplest Criegee intermediate CH2OO

SO2 scavenging and self-reaction of CH2OO were utilized for the decay of CH2OO to extract the absorption spectrum of CH2OO under bulk conditions. Absolute absorption cross sections of CH2OO at 308.4 and 351.8 nm were obtained from laser-depletion measurements in a jet-cooled molecular beam. The peak cross section is (1.23 ± 0.18) × 10(-17) cm(2) at 340 nm.

Strong Negative Temperature Dependence of the Simplest Criegee Intermediate CH2OO Reaction with Water Dimer.

The kinetics of the reaction of CH2OO with water vapor was measured directly with UV absorption at temperatures from 283 to 324 K. The observed CH2OO decay rate is second order with respect to the H2O concentration, indicating water dimer participates in the reaction. The rate coefficient of the CH2OO reaction with water dimer can be described by an Arrhenius expression k(T) = A exp(-Ea/RT) with an activation energy of -8.1 ± 0.6 kcal mol(-1) and k(298 K) = (7.4 ± 0.6) × 10(-12) cm(3) s(-1). Theoretical calculations yield a large negative temperature dependence consistent with the experimental results. The temperature dependence increases the effective loss rate for CH2OO by a factor of ~2.5 at 278 K and decreases by a factor of ~2 at 313 K relative to 298 K, suggesting that temperature is important for determining the impact of Criegee intermediate reactions with water in the atmosphere.

UV absorption spectrum of the C2 Criegee intermediate CH3CHOO

The UV spectrum of CH3CHOO was measured by transient absorption in a flow cell at 295 K. The absolute absorption cross sections of CH3CHOO were measured by laser depletion in a molecular beam to be (1.06 ± 0.09) × 10(-17) cm(2) molecule(-1) at 308 nm and (9.7 ± 0.6) × 10(-18) cm(2) molecule(-1) at 352 nm. After scaling the UV spectrum of CH3CHOO to the absolute cross section at 308 nm, the peak UV cross section is (1.27 ± 0.11) × 10(-17) cm(2) molecule(-1) at 328 nm. Compared to the simplest Criegee intermediate CH2OO, the UV absorption band of CH3CHOO is similar in intensity but blue shifted by 14 nm, resulting in a 20% slower photolysis rate estimated for CH3CHOO in the atmosphere.

Unimolecular Decomposition Rate of the Criegee Intermediate (CH3)2COO Measured Directly with UV Absorption Spectroscopy

The unimolecular decomposition of (CH3)2COO and (CD3)2COO was measured by direct detection of the Criegee intermediate at temperatures from 283 to 323 K using time-resolved UV absorption spectroscopy. The unimolecular rate coefficient kd for (CH3)2COO shows a strong temperature dependence, increasing from 269 ± 82 s(-1) at 283 K to 916 ± 56 s(-1) at 323 K with an Arrhenius activation energy of ∼6 kcal mol(-1). The bimolecular rate coefficient for the reaction of (CH3)2COO with SO2, kSO2, was also determined in the temperature range 283 to 303 K. Our temperature-dependent values for kd and kSO2 are consistent with previously reported relative rate coefficients kd/kSO2 of (CH3)2COO formed from ozonolysis of tetramethyl ethylene. Quantum chemical calculations of kd for (CH3)2COO are consistent with the experiment, and the combination of experiment and theory for (CD3)2COO indicates that tunneling plays a significant role in (CH3)2COO unimolecular decomposition. The fast rates of unimolecular decomposition for (CH3)2COO measured here, in light of the relatively slow rate for the reaction of (CH3)2COO with water previously reported, suggest that thermal decomposition may compete with the reactions with water and with SO2 for atmospheric removal of the dimethyl-substituted Criegee intermediate.

Temperature-Dependent Rate Coefficients for the Reaction of CH2OO with Hydrogen Sulfide

The reaction of the simplest Criegee intermediate CH2OO with hydrogen sulfide was measured with transient UV absorption spectroscopy in a temperature-controlled flow reactor, and bimolecular rate coefficients were obtained from 278 to 318 K and from 100 to 500 Torr. The average rate coefficient at 298 K and 100 Torr was (1.7 ± 0.2) × 10-13 cm3 s-1. The reaction was found to be independent of pressure and exhibited a weak negative temperature dependence. Ab initio quantum chemistry calculations of the temperature-dependent reaction rate coefficient at the QCISD(T)/CBS level are in reasonable agreement with the experiment. The reaction of CH2OO with H2S is 2-3 orders of magnitude faster than the reaction with H2O monomer. Though rates of CH2OO scavenging by water vapor under atmospheric conditions are primarily controlled by the reaction with water dimer, the H2S loss pathway will be dominated by the reaction with monomer. The agreement between experiment and theory for the CH2OO + H2S reaction lends credence to theoretical descriptions of other Criegee intermediate reactions that cannot easily be probed experimentally.

Electronic quenching of O(1D) by Xe: Oscillations in the product angular distribution and their dependence on collision energy

The dynamics of the O((1)D) + Xe electronic quenching reaction was investigated in a crossed beam experiment at four collision energies. Marked large-scale oscillations in the differential cross sections were observed for the inelastic scattering products, O((3)P) and Xe. The shape and relative phases of the oscillatory structure depend strongly on collision energy. Comparison of the experimental results with time-independent scattering calculations shows qualitatively that this behavior is caused by Stueckelberg interferences, for which the quantum phases of the multiple reaction pathways accessible during electronic quenching constructively and destructively interfere.