A combined experimental and trajectory study of vibrationally state-selected NO 2 + collisions with Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe is presented. Ne, Ar, and Kr are similar in that only dissociation to the excited singlet oxygen channel is observed; however, the appearance energies vary by ϳ4 eV between the three rare gases, and the variation is nonmonotonic in rare gas mass. Xe behaves quite differently, allowing efficient access to the ground triplet state dissociation channel. For all four rare gases there are strong effects of NO 2 + vibrational excitation that extend over the entire collision energy range, implying that vibration influences the efficiency of collision to internal energy conversion. Bending excitation is more efficient than stretching; however, bending angular momentum partially counters the enhancement. Direct dynamics trajectories for NO 2 + + Kr reproduce both the collision energy and vibrational state effects observed experimentally and reveal that intracomplex charge transfer is critical for the efficient energy transfer needed to drive dissociation. The strong vibrational effects can be rationalized in terms of bending, and to a lesser extent, stretching distortion enhancing transition to the Kr +-NO 2 charge state.

NO(2)(+) in six different vibrational states was reacted with C(2)H(2) over the center-of-mass energy range from 0.03 to 3.3 eV. The reaction, forming NO(+)+C(2)H(2)O and NO+C(2)H(2)O(+), shows a bimodal dependence on collision energy (E(col)). At low E(col), the reaction is quite inefficient (<2%) despite this being a barrierless, exoergic reaction, and is strongly inhibited by E(col). For E(col)> approximately 0.5 eV, a second mechanism turns on, with an efficiency reaching approximately 27% for E(col)>3 eV. The two reaction channels have nearly identical dependence on E(col) and NO(2)(+) vibrational state, and identical recoil dynamics, leading to the conclusion that they represent a single reaction path throughout most of the collision. All modes of NO(2)(+) vibrational excitation enhance both channels at all E(col), however, the effects of bend (010) and bend overtone (02(0)0) excitation are particularly strong (factor of 4). In contrast, the asymmetric stretch (001), which intuition suggests should be coupled to the reaction coordinate, leads to only a factor of approximately 2 enhancement, as does the symmetric stretch (100). Perhaps the most surprising effect is that of the bending angular momentum, which strongly suppress reaction, even though both the energy and angular momentum involved are tiny compared to the collision energy and angular momentum. The results are interpreted in light of ab initio and Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus calculations.

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We report the effects of collision energy (E col) and five different H2CO+ vibrational modes on reaction of H2CO+ with ND3 and D2O over the center-of-mass E col range from 0.1 to 2.1 eV. Properties of various complexes and transition states were also examined computationally. For water, the only reaction is proton transfer (PT), going by a direct mechanism over the entire E col range, with a cross section near the collision limit. H2CO+ vibrational excitation has no effect on reaction with water. Three product channels are observed in reaction with ammonia. Both proton transfer (PT) and charge transfer (CT) have large cross sections over the entire energy range. Hydrogen abstraction by H2CO+ from ammonia (HA) accounts for <2% of the total product signal but is a mechanistically interesting channel. Both PT and HA go by direct mechanisms over most of the E col range, but complex mediation may be important at the lowest energies. All three channels are mode-specifically affected by H2CO+ vibrational excitation. Vibration controls total reactivity but has essentially no effect on product branching. Charge transfer during reactant approach appears to have a large effect on subsequent PT and HA reactions.

Two color resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) scheme of NO(2) through the E (2)Sigma(u)(+) (3psigma) Rydberg state was used to prepare NO(2)(+) in its ground and (100), (010), (02(0)0), (02(2)0), and (001) vibrational states. Photoelectron spectroscopy was used to verify >96% state selection purity, in good agreement with results of Bell et al. for a similar REMPI scheme. The effects of NO(2)(+) vibrational excitation on charge transfer with NO have been studied over the center-of-mass collision energy (E(col)) range from 0.07 to 2.15 eV. Charge transfer is strongly suppressed by collision energy at E(col) < approximately 0.25 eV but is independent of E(col) at higher energies. Mode-specific vibrational effects are observed for both the integral and differential cross-sections. The NO(2)(+) bending vibration strongly enhances charge transfer, with enhancement proportional to the bending quantum number, and is not dependent on the bending angular momentum. The enhancement results from increased charge transfer probability in large impact parameter collisions that lead to small deflection angles. The symmetric stretch also enhances reaction at low collision energies, albeit less efficiently than the bend. The asymmetric stretch has virtually no effect, despite being the highest-energy mode. A model is proposed to account for both the collision energy and the vibrational state dependence.