The rate constant of the gas-phase addition reaction of the light hydrogen isotope muonium to molecular
oxygen, Mu + O2 → MuO2, was measured over a range of temperatures from 115 to 463 K at a pressure of
2 bar and from 16 to 301 bar at room temperature, using N2 as the moderator gas. The reaction remains in
the termolecular regime over the entire pressure range. At room temperature, the average low-pressure limiting
rate constant is k
ch
0(Mu) = (8.0 ± 2.1) × 10-33 cm6 s-1, a factor of almost 7 below the corresponding rate
constant for the H + O2 addition reaction, k
ch
0(H). In contrast to k
ch
0(H), which exhibits a clear negative
temperature dependence, k
ch
0(Mu) is essentially temperature independent. At room temperature, the kinetic
isotope effect (KIE) is strongly pressure (density) dependent and is reversed at pressures near 300 bar. The
kinetics are analyzed based on the statistical adiabatic channel model of Troe using a Morse potential, which
works well in reproducing the overall KIE. The major factors governing the isotope effect are differences in
the moment of inertia and density of vibrational states of the addition complex.