Issue 8, 2020

Collision-induced and complex-mediated roaming dynamics in the H + C2H4 → H2 + C2H3 reaction

Abstract

Roaming is a novel mechanism in reaction dynamics. It describes an unusual pathway, which can be quite different from the conventional minimum-energy path, leading to products. While roaming has been reported or suggested in a number of unimolecular reactions, it has been rarely reported for bimolecular reactions. Here, we report a high-level computational study of roaming dynamics in the important bimolecular combustion reaction H + C2H4 → H2 + C2H3, using a new, high-level machine learning-based potential energy surface. In addition to the complex-mediated roaming mechanism, a non-complex forming roaming mechanism is found. It can be described as a direct inelastic collision where the departing H atom roams and then abstracts an H atom. We denoted this as “collision-induced” roaming. These two roaming mechanisms have different angular distributions; however, both produce highly internally excited C2H3. The roaming pathway leads to remarkably different dynamics as compared with the direct abstraction pathway. A clear signature of the roaming mechanism is highly internally excited C2H3, which could be observed experimentally.

Graphical abstract: Collision-induced and complex-mediated roaming dynamics in the H + C2H4 → H2 + C2H3 reaction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
25 Nov 2019
Accepted
09 Jan 2020
First published
10 Jan 2020
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2020,11, 2148-2154

Collision-induced and complex-mediated roaming dynamics in the H + C2H4 → H2 + C2H3 reaction

Y. Fu, X. Lu, Y. Han, B. Fu, D. H. Zhang and J. M. Bowman, Chem. Sci., 2020, 11, 2148 DOI: 10.1039/C9SC05951B

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