A complete map of the ion chemistry of the naphthalene radical cation? DFT and RRKM modeling of a complex potential energy surface
The fragmentation mechanisms of the naphthalene molecular ion to [M–C{sub 4}H{sub 2}]{sup +•}, [M–C{sub 2}H{sub 2}]{sup +•}, [M–H{sub 2}]{sup +•}, and [M–H{sup •}]{sup +} were obtained at the UB3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p)//UB3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory and were subsequently used to calculate the microcanonical rate constants, k(E)’s, for all the steps by the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus formalism. The pre-equilibrium and steady state approximations were applied on different regions of the potential energy profiles to obtain the fragmentation k(E)’s and calculate the relative abundances of the ions as a function of energy. These results reproduce acceptably well the imaging photoelectron-photoion coincidence spectra of naphthalene, in the photon-energy range 14.0–18.8 eV that was previously reported by our group. Prior to dissociation, the molecular ion rapidly equilibrates with a set of isomers that includes the Z- and E-phenylvinylacetylene (PVA) radical cations. The naphthalene ion is the predominant isomer below 10 eV internal energy, with the other isomers remaining at steady state concentrations. Later on, new steady-state intermediates are formed, such as the azulene and 1-phenyl-butatriene radical cations. The naphthalene ion does not eject an H atom directly but eliminates an H{sub 2} molecule in a two-step fragmentation. H{sup •} loss occurs instead from the 1-phenyl-butatriene ion. The PVA ions initiate the ejection of diacetylene (C{sub 4}H{sub 2}) to yield the benzene radical cation. Acetylene elimination yields the pentalene cation at low energies (where it can account for 45.9%–100.0% of the rate constant of this channel), in a three-step mechanism starting from the azulene ion. However, above 7.6 eV, the major [M–C{sub 2}H{sub 2}]{sup +•} structure is the phenylacetylene cation.
- OSTI ID:
- 22489568
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 143, Issue 10; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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