Neutral-neutral reaction of ground state carbon atom with triacetylene, HCCCCCCH: Formation of interstellar 2,4,6-heptatriynylidyne, HCCCCCCC

PHYS 596

B. J. Sun, d9312006@em93.ndhu.edu.tw1, R. I. Kaiser2, and A. H. H. Chang, hhchang@mail.ndhu.edu.tw1. (1) Department of Chemistry, National Dong Hwa University, Shoufeng, Hualien, Taiwan, (2) Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822
The interstellar reaction of ground-state carbon atom with the second member of polyyne family, triacetylene (HCCCCCCH), is investigated theoretically to explore probable routes to form hydrogen-deficient carbon clusters at ultra-low temperature in cold molecular clouds. The isomerization and decomposition channels on C7H2 adiabatic triplet ground-state potential energy surface for each of the five collision complexes are characterized by utilizing the unrestricted B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory and the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ calculations. With facilitation of RRKM and variational RRKM rate constants at collision energies of 0-10 kcal/mol, the most probable paths, thus reaction mechanism, are determined amid over one hundred intermediates and more than a dozen dissociation products. The corresponding rate equations are then solved such that the evolutions of concentrations of collision complexes, intermediates, and products versus time are obtained. As a result, the final products and yields are identified. This study predicts that five collision complexes, c1-c5, would produce a single final product, carbon chain C7H + H. Our investigation indicates the title reaction is efficient to form astronomically observed C7H in cold molecular clouds.
 

PHYS Poster Session - Computational Spectroscopy and Reaction Dynamics
7:30 PM-10:00 PM, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster

Sci-Mix
8:00 PM-10:00 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Sci-Mix

Division of Physical Chemistry

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008