The importance of aerosols to humankind is well-known, playing an integral role in determining Earth's climate and influencing human health. Despite this fact, much remains unknown about the initial events of nucleation. In this work, the molecular properties of common organic atmospheric pollutant oxalic acid and its gas phase interactions with water have been thoroughly examined. Local minima single-point energies for the monomer conformations were calculated at the B3LYP and MP2 level of theory with both 6-311++G(d,p) and aug-cc-pVDZ basis sets and are compared with previous works. Optimized geometries, relative energies, and free energy changes for the stable clusters of oxalic acid conformers with up to six waters were then obtained from B3LYP calculations with 6-31+G(d) and 6-311++G(d,p) basis sets. Initially, cooperative binding is predicted to be the most important factor in nucleation, but as the clusters grow, dipole cancellations are found to play a pivotal role. The clusters of oxalic acid hydrated purely with water tend to produce extremely stable and neutral core systems. Free energies of formation and atmospheric implications are discussed.

Thermodynamically stable small clusters of oxalic acid (CO2H)2, ammonia (NH3), and water (H2O) are studied through quantum chemical calculations. The (CO2H)2-NH3 core system with up to three waters of hydration was examined by B3LYP density functional theory and MP2 molecular orbital theory with the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set. The (CO2H)2-NH3 core complexes are observed to hydrogen bond strongly and should be found in appreciably significant concentrations in the atmosphere. Subsequent hydration of the (CO2H)2-NH3 core, however, is found to be somewhat prohibitive under ambient conditions. Relative populations of the examined clusters are predicted and the binding patterns detailed. Atmospheric implications related to new particle formations are discussed.

The mild yet promiscuous reactions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and phenolic derivatives to produce nitrous acid (HONO) have been explored with density functional theory calculations. The reaction is found to occur via four distinct pathways with both proton coupled electron transfer (PCET) and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) mechanisms available. While the parent reaction with phenol may not be significant in the gas phase, electron donating groups in the ortho and para positions facilitate the reduction of nitrogen dioxide by electronically stabilizing the product phenoxy radical. Hydrogen bonding groups in the ortho position may additionally stabilize the nascent resonantly stabilized radical product, thus enhancing the reaction. Catechol (ortho-hydroxy phenol) has a predicted overall free energy change ΔG(0) = -0.8 kcal mol(-1) and electronic activation energy Ea = 7.0 kcal mol(-1). Free amines at the ortho and para positions have ΔG(0) = -3.8 and -1.5 kcal mol(-1); Ea = 2.3 and 2.1 kcal mol(-1), respectively. The results indicate that the hydrogen abstraction reactions of these substituted phenols by NO2 are fast and spontaneous. Hammett constants produce a linear correlation with bond dissociation energy (BDE) demonstrating that the BDE is the main parameter controlling the dark abstraction reaction. The implications for atmospheric chemistry and ground-level nitrous acid production are discussed.

Ionization or ionic dissociation of perchloric acid in the clusters HClO 4-(H 2 O) n (n ) 1-3) and HClO 4-NH 3-(H 2 O) n (n ) 0, 1) is investigated by density functional theory and ab initio molecular orbital theory. The equilibrium structures, binding energies, and dipole moments of the clusters are calculated using the hybrid density functional (B3LYP) method with the 6-31+G* and 6-311++G** basis sets and the secondorder Møller-Plesset approximation method with the 6-311++G** basis set. Harmonic vibrational frequencies are obtained from the B3LYP/6-311++G** calculations. Perchloric acid is found to require a minimum of three water molecules for ionization to occur and at least one water molecule to protonate ammonia. The corresponding clusters with fewer water molecules are found to be strongly hydrogen-bonded. The acid strength and the related properties of perchloric acid are discussed and compared to those of sulfuric acid in the context of clusters with ammonia and water.

The thermal decomposition of ethyl and propyl iodides, along with select isotopomers, up to 1300 K was performed by flash pyrolysis with a 20-100 mus time scale. The pyrolysis was followed by supersonic expansion to isolate the reactive intermediates and initial products, and detection was accomplished by vacuum ultraviolet single photon ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (VUV-SPI-TOFMS). The products monitored, such as CH(3), CH(3)I, C(2)H(5), C(2)H(4), HI, I, C(3)H(7), C(3)H(6), and I(2), provide for the simultaneous and direct observation of molecular elimination and bond fission pathways in ethyl and propyl iodides. In the pyrolysis of ethyl iodide, both C-I bond fission and HI molecular elimination pathways are competitive at the elevated temperatures, with C-I bond fission being preferred; at temperatures >or=1000 K, the ethyl radical products further dissociate to ethene + H atoms. In the pyrolysis of isopropyl iodide, both HI molecular elimination and C-I bond fission are observed and the molecular elimination channel is more important at all the elevated temperatures; the isopropyl radicals produced in the C-I fission channel undergo further decomposition to propene + H at temperatures >or=850 K. In contrast, bond fission is found to dominate the n-propyl iodide pyrolysis; at temperatures >or=950 K the n-propyl radicals produced decompose into methyl radical + ethene and propene + H atom. Isotopomer experiments characterize the extent of surface reactions and verify that the HI molecular eliminations in ethyl and propyl iodides proceed by a C1, C2 elimination mechanism (the 1,2 intramolecular elimination).