A combined photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and laser absorption spectrometry flash photolysis apparatus for simultaneous determination of reaction rates and product branching.

In recent years, predictions of product branching for reactions of consequence to both combustion and atmospheric chemistry have outpaced validating experiments. An apparatus is described that aims to fill this void by combining several well-known experimental techniques into one: flash photolysis for radical generation, multiple-pass laser absorption spectrometry (LAS) for overall kinetics measurements, and time-resolved photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PI TOF-MS) for product branching quantification. The sensitivity of both the LAS and PI TOF-MS detection techniques is shown to be suitable for experiments with initial photolytically generated radical concentrations of ∼1 × 1012 molecules cm-3. As it is fast (µs time resolution) and non-intrusive, LAS is preferred for accurate kinetics (time-dependence) measurements. By contrast, PI TOF-MS is preferred for product quantification because it provides a near-complete picture of the reactor composition in a single mass spectrum. The value of simultaneous LAS and PI TOF-MS detection is demonstrated for the chemically interesting phenyl radical + propene system.

Phenyl radical + propene: a prototypical reaction surface for aromatic-catalyzed 1,2-hydrogen-migration and subsequent resonance-stabilized radical formation.

The C9H11 potential energy surface (PES) was experimentally and theoretically explored because it is a relatively simple, prototypical alkylaromatic radical system. Although the C9H11 PES has already been extensively studied both experimentally (under single-collision and thermal conditions) and theoretically, new insights were made in this work by taking a new experimental approach: flash photolysis combined with time-resolved molecular beam mass spectrometry (MBMS) and visible laser absorbance. The C9H11 PES was experimentally accessed by photolytic generation of the phenyl radical and subsequent reaction with excess propene (C6H5 + C3H6). The overall kinetics of C6H5 + C3H6 was measured using laser absorbance with high time-resolution from 300 to 700 K and was found to be in agreement with earlier measurements over a lower temperature range. Five major product channels of C6H5 + C3H6 were observed with MBMS at 600 and 700 K, four of which were expected: hydrogen (H)-abstraction (measured by the stable benzene, C6H6, product), methyl radical (CH3)-loss (styrene detected), H-loss (phenylpropene isomers detected) and radical adduct stabilization. The fifth, unexpected product observed was the benzyl radical, which was rationalized by the inclusion of a previously unreported pathway on the C9H11 PES: aromatic-catalysed 1,2-H-migration and subsequent resonance stabilized radical (RSR, benzyl radical in this case) formation. The current theoretical understanding of the C9H11 PES was supported (including the aromatic-catalyzed pathway) by quantitative comparisons between modelled and experimental MBMS results. At 700 K, the branching to styrene + CH3 was 2-4 times greater than that of any other product channel, while benzyl radical + C2H4 from the aromatic-catalyzed pathway accounted for ∼10% of the branching. Single-collision conditions were also simulated on the updated PES to explain why previous crossed molecular beam experiments did not see evidence of the aromatic-catalyzed pathway. This experimentally validated knowledge of the C9H11 PES was added to the database of the open-source Reaction Mechanism Generator (RMG), which was then used to generalize the findings on the C9H11 PES to a slightly more complicated alkylaromatic system.

Direct kinetic measurements of reactions between the simplest Criegee intermediate CH2OO and alkenes.

The simplest Criegee Intermediate (CH2OO), a well-known biradical formed in alkene ozonolysis, is known to add across double bonds. Here we report direct experimental rate measurements of the simplest Criegee Intermediate reacting with C2­C4 alkenes obtained using the laser flash photolysis technique probing the recently measured B(1)A' ← X(1)A' transition in CH2OO. The measured activation energy (298­494 K) for CH2OO + alkenes is Ea ≈ 3500 ± 1000 J mol(­1) for all alkyl substituted alkenes and Ea = 7000 ± 900 J mol(­1) for ethene. The measured Arrhenius pre-exponential factors (A) vary between (2 ± 1) × 10(­15) and (11 ± 3) × 10(­15) cm(3) molecule(­1) s(­1). Quantum chemical calculations of the corresponding rate coefficients reproduce qualitative reactivity trends but overestimate the absolute rate coefficients. Despite the small Ea's, the CH2OO + alkene rate coefficients are almost 2 orders of magnitude smaller than those of similar reactions between CH2OO and carbonyl compounds. Using the rate constants measured here, we estimate that, under typical atmospheric conditions, reaction with alkenes does not represent a significant sink of CH2OO. In environments rich in C═C double bonds, however, such as ozone-exposed rubber or emission plumes, these reactions can play a significant role.