Molecular beam experiments are reported for collisions between oxygen molecules. Total integral cross sections have been measured as a function of the collision energy with the control of molecular alignment. The low collision energy (in the thermal and subthermal range) and the high angular resolution permit observation of the “glory” effect, manifestation of quantum-mechanical interference, which allows an accurate probe of intermolecular interactions. This first complete experimental characterization of the interaction yields a ground (singlet) state bond energy of 17.0 ± 0.8 meV for the most stable dimer geometry (the two oxygen molecules lying parallel at a distance of 3.56 ± 0.07 Å). Also the splittings among the singlet, the triplet, and the quintet surfaces are obtained, and a full representation of their angular dependence is reported via a novel harmonic expansion functional form for diatom−diatom interactions. These results indicate that most of the bonding in the dimer comes from van der Waals forces, but chemical (spin−spin) contributions in this open-shell/open-shell system are not negligible (∼15% of the van der Waals component of the interaction).

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Abstract. Supersonic beams of oxygen, nitrogen, and chlorine atoms and of metastable oxygen and nitrogen molecules produced from a high-pressure radiofrequency discharge beam source have been characterized by coupling velocity selection with magnetic analysis in the transmission mode. The present work leads to the determination of the relative populations of the electronic states of the species in the produced beams, showing that estimates of the populations from plasma temperatures or final translational temperatures could bring on incorrect conclusions.

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The dynamics of ground state Cl(2P3/2) atom reactions with methanol, methanol-d1, ethanol, and dimethyl ether have been studied both experimentally and theoretically. The reactions were photoinitiated by 355 nm photolysis of Cl2 to produce monoenergetic Cl(2P3/2) atoms that react with ground electronic state organic molecules under single collision conditions. The rotational quantum state population distributions of the nascent HCl(ν′) products were probed by 2+1 resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Nascent HCl(ν′=0) products from reaction of Cl atoms with methanol, methanol-d1 (CH3OD), ethanol, and dimethyl ether, at mean collision energies in the range of 5.6–6.7 kcal/mol, exhibit distributions of population over rotational levels that all peak at J′=3–5. The average rotational energies of the HCl(ν′=0) products for the respective reactions are 〈Erot〉=330±29, 300±24, 340±24, and 256±17 cm−1 (1σ uncertainties). Ab initio calculations were performed in order to examine the mechanisms of Cl atom abstraction of hydrogen from the alcohols and ether. Optimized geometrical structures and vibrational frequencies of molecular complexes and transition states on the reaction pathways were obtained at the MP2/6-311G(d,p) level and their energies were further refined at the G2 level of theory. Comparisons are drawn between the mechanisms and energetic pathways of the various reactions. The degree of rotational excitation of the HCl, which is significantly greater than for Cl atom abstraction of an H atom from alkanes, is attributed to a dipole–dipole interaction between the HCl and RCHOR′ (R, R′=H or CH3) moieties in the products’ region of the potential energy surface.