DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Two-center three-electron bonding in ClNH3 revealed via helium droplet infrared laser Stark spectroscopy: Entrance channel complex along the Cl + NH3 → ClNH2 + H reaction

Journal Article · · Journal of Chemical Physics
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4947089 · OSTI ID:1409058
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2]; ORCiD logo [4]
  1. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States); University of Georgia, Athens, GA
  2. Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  3. Ruhr-Univ. Bochum, Bochum (Germany)
  4. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)

Pyrolytic dissociation of Cl2 is employed to dope helium droplets with single Cl atoms. Sequential addition of NH3 to Cl-doped droplets leads to the formation of a complex residing in the entry valley to the substitution reaction Cl + NH3 → ClNH2 + H. Infrared Stark spectroscopy in the NH stretching region reveals symmetric and antisymmetric vibrations of a C3v symmetric top. Frequency shifts from NH3 and dipole moment measurements are consistent with a ClNH3 complex containing a relatively strong two-center three-electron (2c–3e) bond. The nature of the 2c–3e bonding in ClNH3 is explored computationally and found to be consistent with the complexation-induced blue shifts observed experimentally. As a result, computations of interconversion pathways reveal nearly barrierless routes to the formation of this complex, consistent with the absence in experimental spectra of two other complexes, NH3Cl and Cl–HNH2, which are predicted in the entry valley to the hydrogen abstraction reaction Cl + NH3 → HCl + NH2.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0008086
OSTI ID:
1409058
Journal Information:
Journal of Chemical Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Chemical Physics Journal Issue: 16 Vol. 144; ISSN 0021-9606
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (55)

Superfluid Helium Droplets: A Uniquely Cold Nanomatrix for Molecules and Molecular Complexes journal May 2004
What can we learn from two-center three-electron bonding with the topological analysis of ELF? journal January 2007
Equilibrium inversion barrier of NH 3 from extrapolated coupled-cluster pair energies : Equilibrium Inversion Barrier of NH journal July 2001
Molpro: a general-purpose quantum chemistry program package: Molpro
  • Werner, Hans-Joachim; Knowles, Peter J.; Knizia, Gerald
  • Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Computational Molecular Science, Vol. 2, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/wcms.82
journal July 2011
Density of states and evaporation rate of helium clusters journal September 1990
Hemibond complexes between H2S and free radicals (F, Cl, Br, and OH) journal August 2014
A new scattering deflection method for determining and selecting the sizes of large liquid clusters of 4He journal April 1993
Perturbative corrections to account for triple excitations in closed and open shell coupled cluster theories journal September 1994
The barrier to inversion of ammonia journal March 2003
The infrared spectrum of acetylene–HF in helium nanodroplets journal August 2003
Ab initio study of reactions between halogen atoms and various fuel molecules by Gaussian-2 theory journal December 2000
Spectra of NH3 in He droplets in the 3μm range journal August 2005
Infrared Laser Spectroscopy of the L-Shaped Cl–HCl Complex Formed in Superfluid 4 He Nanodroplets journal July 2015
Three-electron bond journal May 1977
Anomalies in the reactions of helium(1+) with sulfur hexafluoride embedded in large helium-4 clusters journal March 1993
Structures and stabilities of singly charged three-electron hemibonded systems and their hydrogen-bonded isomers journal July 1988
The Nature of the Chemical Bond. ii. the One-Electron bond and the Three-Electron bond journal September 1931
CH Stretching Excitation Steers the F Atom to the CD Bond in the F + CHD 3 Reaction journal December 2009
A Theoretical Study of Chlorine Atom and Methyl Radical Addition to Nitrogen Bases:  Why Do Cl Atoms Form Two-Center−Three-Electron Bonds Whereas CH 3 Radicals Form Two-Center−Two-Electron Bonds? journal January 1996
Thermochemistry Is Not a Lower Bound to the Activation Energy of Endothermic Reactions:  A Kinetic Study of the Gas-Phase Reaction of Atomic Chlorine with Ammonia journal June 2006
Computational Studies on the Kinetics and Mechanisms for NH 3 Reactions with ClO x ( x = 0−4) Radicals journal February 2007
Study of NH Stretching Vibrations in Small Ammonia Clusters by Infrared Spectroscopy in He Droplets and ab Initio Calculations journal May 2007
Rotational Dynamics of the Methyl Radical in Superfluid 4 He Nanodroplets journal December 2012
Infrared Spectra in the 3 μm Region of Ethane and Ethane Clusters in Helium Droplets journal October 2013
Reaction-Path Dynamics Calculations of the Cl + NH 3 Hydrogen Abstraction Reaction: The Role of the Intermediate Complexes journal April 2010
Dipole Moment of the HOOO Radical: Resolution of a Structural Enigma journal October 2013
Entrance channel X–HF (X = Cl, Br and I) complexes studied by high-resolution infrared laser spectroscopy in helium nanodroplets journal January 2005
Enhancement of bimolecular reactivity by a pre-reaction van der Waals complex: the case of F + H2O → HF + HO journal January 2013
σ*-Radicals R 3 N — hal: electron paramagnetic resonance studies of the radiolysis of alkylammonium halides journal January 1991
Molecular orientation in superfluid liquid helium droplets: high resolution infrared spectroscopy as a probe of solvent–solute interactions journal January 1999
Flash pyrolysis nozzle for generation of radicals in a supersonic jet expansion journal August 1992
Quantum solvation and molecular rotations in superfluid helium clusters journal October 2000
Helium nanodroplet isolation rovibrational spectroscopy: Methods and recent results journal January 2001
Vibrational energies for NH3 based on high level ab initio potential energy surfaces journal December 2002
Theoretical investigation of rotationally inelastic collisions of the methyl radical with helium journal August 2011
Rates of H+CF3Br and Cl+NH3 journal January 1977
An efficient reformulation of the closed‐shell coupled cluster single and double excitation (CCSD) equations journal December 1988
Electron affinities of the first‐row atoms revisited. Systematic basis sets and wave functions journal May 1992
Coupled cluster theory for high spin, open shell reference wave functions journal October 1993
Successive capture and coagulation of atoms and molecules to small clusters in large liquid helium clusters journal May 1995
Charge transfer within He clusters journal November 1996
Automation of an “Aculight” continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator journal January 2013
Communication: Covalent nature of X⋯H 2 O (X = F, Cl, and Br) interactions journal April 2013
Infrared rovibrational spectroscopy of OH–C 2 H 2 in 4 He nanodroplets: Parity splitting due to partially quenched electronic angular momentum journal April 2015
Infrared spectroscopy of helium nanodroplets: novel methods for physics and chemistry journal January 2006
Spectroscopy and dynamics in helium nanodroplets journal April 2006
Systematics of pure and doped He 4 clusters journal October 1995
Density of superfluid helium droplets journal August 1998
Dissociation Energies of He 2 + ( X 2 Σ u + ) and He 2 ( A 1 Σ u + ) journal November 1971
Accurate Analytical He-He van der Waals Potential Based on Perturbation Theory journal February 1995
Rotationally Resolved Spectroscopy of S F 6 in Liquid Helium Clusters: A Molecular Probe of Cluster Temperature journal August 1995
Stark Spectroscopy of Polar Molecules Solvated in Liquid Helium Droplets journal May 1999
Dipole Moments of Molecules Solvated in Helium Nanodroplets journal April 2003
CH Stretching Excitation in the Early Barrier F + CHD3 Reaction Inhibits CH Bond Cleavage journal July 2009
van der Waals Interactions in the Cl + HD Reaction journal November 1999

Cited By (2)


Similar Records

Two-center three-electron bonding in ClNH{sub 3} revealed via helium droplet infrared laser Stark spectroscopy: Entrance channel complex along the Cl + NH{sub 3} → ClNH{sub 2} + H reaction
Journal Article · Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Journal of Chemical Physics · OSTI ID:22657932

Propargyl + O2 Reaction in Helium Droplets: Entrance Channel Barrier or Not?
Journal Article · Mon Sep 09 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Journal of Physical Chemistry. A, Molecules, Spectroscopy, Kinetics, Environment, and General Theory · OSTI ID:1409049

Infrared spectra and structure of the matrix-isolated 1:1 complexes of sulfur trioxide with ammonia and the methylamines
Journal Article · Wed Apr 09 23:00:00 EST 1986 · J. Phys. Chem.; (United States) · OSTI ID:5905411