Although carbonyl oxides, "Criegee intermediates," have long been implicated in tropospheric oxidation, there have been few direct measurements of their kinetics, and only for the simplest compound in the class, CH2OO. Here, we report production and reaction kinetics of the next larger Criegee intermediate, CH3CHOO. Moreover, we independently probed the two distinct CH3CHOO conformers, syn- and anti-, both of which react readily with SO2 and with NO2. We demonstrate that anti-CH3CHOO is substantially more reactive toward water and SO2 than is syn-CH3CHOO. Reaction with water may dominate tropospheric removal of Criegee intermediates and determine their atmospheric concentration. An upper limit is obtained for the reaction of syn-CH3CHOO with water, and the rate constant for reaction of anti-CH3CHOO with water is measured as 1.0 × 10(-14) ± 0.4 × 10(-14) centimeter(3) second(-1).

Rate coefficients are directly determined for the reactions of the Criegee intermediates (CI) CH2OO and CH3CHOO with the two simplest carboxylic acids, formic acid (HCOOH) and acetic acid (CH3COOH), employing two complementary techniques: multiplexed photoionization mass spectrometry and cavity-enhanced broadband ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy. The measured rate coefficients are in excess of 1×10−10 cm3 s−1, several orders of magnitude larger than those suggested from many previous alkene ozonolysis experiments and assumed in atmospheric modeling studies. These results suggest that the reaction with carboxylic acids is a substantially more important loss process for CIs than is presently assumed. Implementing these rate coefficients in global atmospheric models shows that reactions between CI and organic acids make a substantial contribution to removal of these acids in terrestrial equatorial areas and in other regions where high CI concentrations occur such as high northern latitudes, and implies that sources of acids in these areas are larger than previously recognized.

No abstract

Sharp peaks in the dissociative electron attachment ͑DEA͒ cross sections of uracil and thymine at energies below 3 eV are assigned to vibrational Feshbach resonances ͑VFRs͒ arising from coupling between the dipole bound state and the temporary anion state associated with occupation of the lowest * orbital. Three distinct vibrational modes are identified, and their presence as VFRs is consistent with the amplitudes and bonding characteristics of the * orbital wave function. A deconvolution method is also employed to yield higher effective energy resolution in the DEA spectra. The site dependence of DEA cross sections is evaluated using methyl substituted uracil and thymine to block H atom loss selectively. Implications for the broader issue of DNA damage are briefly discussed.

The pyrolyses of the guaiacols or methoxyphenols (o-, m-, and p-HOC(6)H(4)OCH(3)) have been studied using a heated SiC microtubular (μ-tubular) reactor. The decomposition products are detected by both photoionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (PIMS) and matrix isolation infrared spectroscopy (IR). Gas exiting the heated SiC μ-tubular reactor is subject to a free expansion after a residence time of approximately 50-100 μs. The PIMS reveals that, for all three guaiacols, the initial decomposition step is loss of methyl radical: HOC(6)H(4)OCH(3) → HOC(6)H(4)O + CH(3). Decarbonylation of the HOC(6)H(4)O radical produces the hydroxycyclopentadienyl radical, C(5)H(4)OH. As the temperature of the μ-tubular reactor is raised to 1275 K, the C(5)H(4)OH radical loses a H atom to produce cyclopentadienone, C(5)H(4)═O. Loss of CO from cyclopentadienone leads to the final products, acetylene and vinylacetylene: C(5)H(4)═O → [CO + 2 HC≡CH] or [CO + HC≡C-CH═CH(2)]. The formation of C(5)H(4)═O, HCCH, and CH(2)CHCCH is confirmed with IR spectroscopy. In separate studies of the (1 + 1) resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectra, we observe the presence of C(6)H(5)OH in the molecular beam: C(6)H(5)OH + λ(275.1 nm) → [C(6)H(5)OH Ã] + λ(275.1nm) → C(6)H(5)OH(+). From the REMPI and PIMS signals and previous work on methoxybenzene, we suggest that phenol results from a radical/radical reaction: CH(3) + C(5)H(4)OH → [CH(3)-C(5)H(4)OH]* → C(6)H(5)OH + 2H.