title: Conformation-dependent chemical reaction of formic acid with an oxygen atom.
abstract: Conformation dictates many physical and chemical properties of molecules. The importance of conformation in the selectivity and function of biologically active molecules is widely accepted. However, clear examples of conformation-dependent bimolecular chemical reactions are lacking. Here we consider a case of formic acid (HCOOH) that is a valuable model system containing the -COOH carboxyl functional group, similar to many biomolecules including the standard amino acids. We have found a strong case of conformation-dependent reaction between formic acid and atomic oxygen obtained in cryogenic matrices. The reaction surprisingly leads to peroxyformic acid only from the ground-state trans conformer of formic acid, and it results in the hydrogen-bonded complex for the higher-energy cis conformer.
authors: Leonid
authors: L
authors: Khriachtchev
authors: Alexandra
authors: A
authors: Domanskaya
authors: Kseniya
authors: K
authors: Marushkevich
authors: Markku
authors: M
authors: Räsänen
authors: Bella
authors: B
authors: Grigorenko
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Ermilov
authors: Natalya
authors: N
authors: Andrijchenko
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Nemukhin
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D005561:Formates / Q000737:chemistry*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D005561:Formates; C030544:formic acid; D010100:Oxygen