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Title: Ab initio study of the S/sub N/2 reactions of OH/sup -/ and OOH/sup -/ with CH/sub 3/Cl

Journal Article · · J. Am. Chem. Soc.; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00242a018· OSTI ID:6804077

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations have been used to determine energy profiles for the S/sub N/2 reactions of hydroxide and hydroperoxide anions with methyl chloride. Geometry optimizations were carried out at the Hartree-Fock level with the 6-31 +G(d) basis set. These calculations were supplemented by computations of the correlation energy with second and third-order Moeller-Plesset theory. Though the reactions are exothermic by 40-50 kcal/mol, both are found to have the double-well energy surfaces characteristic of gas-phase S/sub N/2 reactions. At the Hartree-Fock level the central barrier heights are 2.9 and 4.1 kcal/mol for OH/sup -/ and OOH/sup -/, and the transition states are 12.4 and 9.7 kcal/mol lower in energy than the reactants. Electron correlation raises the barrier by 2.1 kcal/mol for OH/sup -/, but it has much larger effects on the overall exothermicities. Vibrational energy changes are found to be less than 1.5 kcal/mol up to the transition state. The geometrical results for the ion-molecule complexes and transition states are discussed and show a somewhat later transition state for the reaction with hydroperoxide ion. The results are consistent with experimental observations including the lower reactivity of OOH/sup -/ than OH/sup -/ in the gas phase. Experimental and theoretical data are also combined to consider energy profiles for S/sub N/2 reactions in aqueous solution.

Research Organization:
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN
OSTI ID:
6804077
Journal Information:
J. Am. Chem. Soc.; (United States), Vol. 109:8
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English