The thermal decomposition of nitromethane provides a classic example of the competition between roaming mediated isomerization and simple bond fission. A recent theoretical analysis suggests that as the pressure is increased from 2 to 200 Torr the product distribution undergoes a sharp transition from roaming dominated to bond-fission dominated. Laser schlieren densitometry is used to explore the variation in the effect of roaming on the density gradients for CH3NO2 decomposition in a shock tube for pressures of 30, 60, and 120 Torr at temperatures ranging from 1200 to 1860 K. A complementary theoretical analysis provides a novel exploration of the effects of roaming on the thermal decomposition kinetics. The analysis focuses on the roaming dynamics in a reduced dimensional space consisting of the rigid-body motions of the CH3 and NO2 radicals. A high-level reduced-dimensionality potential energy surface is developed from fits to large-scale multireference ab initio calculations. Rigid body trajectory simulations coupled with master equation kinetics calculations provide high-level a priori predictions for the thermal branching between roaming and dissociation. A statistical model provides a qualitative/semiquantitative interpretation of the results. Modeling efforts explore the relation between the predicted roaming branching and the observed gradients. Overall, the experiments are found to be fairly consistent with the theoretically proposed branching ratio, but they are also consistent with a no-roaming scenario and the underlying reasons are discussed. The theoretical predictions are also compared with prior theoretical predictions, with a related statistical model, and with the extant experimental data for the decomposition of CH3NO2, and for the reaction of CH3 with NO2.

Increasing experimental results indicate that optically excited plasmonic metal nanoparticles can drive photochemical reactions at photon flux comparable to that of solar radiation. However, experimental evidence that provides insight into the mechanism of the reactions on plasmonic surfaces has been limited. Here, using plasmon-enhanced N-demethylation (PEND) of methylene blue (MB) as model reaction, we report mechanistic analysis of photochemical reactions on plasmonic gold nanoparticles under different adsorption and atmospheric conditions using surface-enhanced Raman scattering as operando spectroscopy to monitor the reaction as a function of exposure time to the light source. We found that in air and oxygen atmospheres and in the presence of co-adsorbed water molecules, MB undergoes photochemical N-demethylation to yield thionine (complete N-demethylation product) and other partial N-demethylation products that have distinct vibrational signatures. The product signals are negligible when the MB-particle system is illuminated in nitrogen atmosphere. Consistent with the well-studied mechanism in solution, the PEND reaction appears to be initiated by singlet oxygen generated via energy transfer from the excited state of MB to oxygen molecule, and therefore the reaction may tentatively be described as an autocatalytic photochemical process. The results of this study provide an important insight that electronic excitations of adsorbates pumped by the localized surface plasmon field can lead to selective reaction pathways.

Experiments explore the influence of different C-H stretching eigenstates of CH3D on the reaction of CH3D with Cl(2P3/2). We prepare the mid |110>|0>(A1,E), mid |200>|>0(E), and mid |100>|0> +nu3 +nu5 eigenstates by direct midinfrared absorption near 6000 cm(-1). The vibrationally excited molecules react with photolytic Cl atoms, and we monitor the vibrational states of the CH2D or CH3 radical products by 2+1 resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization. Initial excitation of the |200>|0>(E) state leads to a twofold increase in CH2D products in the vibrational ground state compared to|100>|0> +nu3 +nu5 excitation, indicating mode-selective chemistry in which the C-H stretch motion couples more effectively to the H-atom abstraction coordinate than bend motion. For two eigenstates that differ only in the symmetry of the vibrational wave function, |110>|0>(A1) and |110>|0>(E), the ratio of reaction cross sections is 1.00 +/- 0.05, showing that there is no difference in enhancement of the H-atom abstraction reaction. Molecules with excited local modes corresponding to one quantum of C-H stretch in each of two distinct oscillators react exclusively to form C-H stretch excited CH2D products. Conversely, eigenstates containing stretch excitation in a single C-H oscillator form predominantly ground vibrational state CH2D products. Analyzing the product state yields for reaction of the |110>|0>(A1) state of CH3D yields an enhancement of 20 +/- 4 over the thermal reaction. A local mode description of the vibrational motion along with a spectator model for the reactivity accounts for all of the observed dynamics.

The recombination of allyl radicals (C3H5), generated from the dissociation of 1,5-hexadiene or allyl iodide dilute in krypton, has been investigated in a diaphragmless shock tube using laser schlieren densitometry, LS, (900-1700 K, 10 ± 1, 29 ± 3, 57 ± 3, and 120 ± 4 Torr). The LS density gradient profiles were simulated and excellent agreement was found between simulations and experimental profiles. Rate coefficients for C3H5I → C3H5 + I and C3H5 + C3H5 → C6H10 were obtained and showed strong fall-off. Second order rate coefficients for allyl radical recombination were determined as k(1a,124Torr) = (2.6 ± 0.8) × 10(55)T( -12.995) exp(-8426/T), k(1a,57Torr) = (1.7 ± 0.5) × 10(60)T( -14.49) exp(-9344/T), and k(1a,30Torr) = (7.5 ± 2.3) × 10(66)T( -15.935) exp(-10192/T) cm(3) mol(-1)s(-1). The contribution of a disproportionation channel in allyl radical reactions was assessed, and the best agreement was obtained with no more than 5% disproportionation. Notably, because both the forward and back reactions of C6H10 ⇌ C3H5 + C3H5 were measured, utilizing two different precursors, the equilibrium constant of this reaction could be found, suggesting an entropy of formation of 1,5-hexadiene, 87.3 cal mol(-1 )K(-1), which is significantly smaller than that group additivity predicts, but larger than other reference literature values.

Ionic liquids are used for myriad applications, including as catalysts, solvents, and propellants. Specifically, 2-hydroxyethylhydrazinium nitrate (HEHN) has been developed as a chemical propellant for space applications. The gas-phase behavior of HEHN ions and clusters is important in understanding its potential as an electrospray thruster propellant. Here, the unimolecular dissociation pathways of two clusters are experimentally observed, and theoretical modeling of hydrogen bonding and dissociation pathways is used to help rationalize those observations. The cation/deprotonated cation cluster [HEH - H], which is observed from electrospray ionization, is calculated to be considerably more stable than the complementary cation/protonated anion adduct, [HEH + HNO], which is not observed experimentally. Upon collisional activation, a larger cluster [(HEHN)HEH] undergoes dissociation via loss of nitric acid at lower collision energies, as predicted theoretically. At higher collision energies, additional primary and secondary loss pathways open, including deprotonated cation loss, ion-pair loss, and double-nitric-acid loss. Taken together, these experimental and theoretical results contribute to a foundational understanding of the dissociation of protic ionic liquid clusters in the gas phase.