title: Mapping the OH + CO-->HOCO reaction pathway through IR spectroscopy of the OH-CO reactant complex.
abstract: A hydrogen-bonded complex composed of the OH and CO reactants has been identified along the OH + CO-->HOCO reaction pathway. IR action spectroscopy in the OH overtone region has been used to examine the vibrational modes of the linear OH-CO complex, including intermolecular bending modes that probe portions of the reaction path leading to HOCO. The spectroscopic measurements have accessed highly excited intermolecular levels, with energies up to 250 cm-1 above the zero-point level, which lie in close proximity to the transition state for reaction. The OH-CO binding energy, D0 < or = 430 cm-1, has also been established from the quantum state distribution of the OH fragments following vibrational predissociation of the OH-CO complex. Complementary electronic structure calculations have been performed to characterize the OH-CO and OH-OC complexes, the transition state for HOCO formation, and the direct reaction path that connects the experimentally observed OH-CO complex to the HOCO intermediate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6323, USA. milester@sas.upenn.edu
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Lester
authors.forename: B V
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Pond
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: D T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Harding
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Wagner
mesh_terms: D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical / Q000737:chemistry*; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared
chemical_list: D017665:Hydroxyl Radical; D002248:Carbon Monoxide