Direct EPR measurement of Arrhenius parameters for the reactions of H˙ atoms with H2O2 and D˙ atoms with D2O2 in aqueous solution
Abstract
Rate constants for the reaction of hydrogen atoms with hydrogen proxide in aqueous solution have been determined by use of pulse radiolysis and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) free-induction decay attenuation measurements. At 22.7 °C a value of (3.48 ± 0.10)× 107 dm3 mol–1 s–1 was measured, and over the temperature range 7.6–84.6 °C, and activation energy of 21.12 ± 0.56 kJ mol–1 was determined. By performing these measurements in basic solution, the rate constant at 22.3 °C for hydrogen atoms reaction with the hydroperoxy anion, HO2–, has been calculated as (1.24 ± 0.14)× 109 dm3 mol–1 s–1, with a corresponding activation energy of 17.32 ± 0.61 kJ mol–1 over the temperature range 7.3–41.8 °C. Measurements were also performed for deuterium atoms, where for D2O2 and DO2– reaction at 25 °C, values of (2.30 ± 0.10)× 107 and 2.12 × 109 dm3 mol–1 s–1 were measured, respectively. Only the D2O2 activation energy of 25.58 ± 1.68 kJ mol–1 was accurately determined, but an estimate for DO2– was also higher than for the corresponding hydrogen atoms reaction. From the results of measurements performed in a mixed H2O–D2O solvent, and using semi-classical transition-state theory arguments, it is shown that the reaction barrier is dominated by the hydrogen atom vibrational adiabatic zero-point energy change.