Helium Nanodroplet Isolation of the Cyclobutyl, 1‑Methylallyl, and Allylcarbinyl Radicals: Infrared Spectroscopy and Ab Initio Computations

• Published in: The journal of physical chemistry. A, Molecules, spectroscopy, kinetics, environment, & general theory Molecules, spectroscopy, kinetics, environment, & general theory, 2017-10, Vol.121 (40), p.7576-7587
• Main Authors: Brown, Alaina R, Franke, Peter R, Douberly, Gary E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
• ISSN: 1089-5639; 1520-5215
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.7b07852

Gas-phase cyclobutyl radical (•C4H7) is produced via pyrolysis of cyclobutylmethyl nitrite (C4H7(CH2)­ONO). Other •C4H7 radicals, such as 1-methylallyl and allylcarbinyl, are similarly produced from nitrite precursors. Nascent radicals are promptly solvated in liquid He droplets, allowing for the acquisition of infrared spectra in the CH stretching region. For the cyclobutyl and 1-methylallyl radicals, anharmonic frequencies are predicted by VPT2+K simulations based upon a hybrid CCSD­(T) force field with quadratic (cubic and quartic) force constants computed using the ANO1 (ANO0) basis set. A density functional theoretical method is used to compute the force field for the allylcarbinyl radical. For all •C4H7 radicals, resonance polyads in the 2800–3000 cm–1 region appear as a result of anharmonic coupling between the CH stretching fundamentals and CH2 bend overtones and combinations. Upon pyrolysis of the cyclobutylmethyl nitrite precursor to produce the cyclobutyl radical, an approximately 2-fold increase in the source temperature leads to the appearance of spectral signatures that can be assigned to 1-methylallyl and 1,3-butadiene. On the basis of a previously reported •C4H7 potential energy surface, this result is interpreted as evidence for the unimolecular decomposition of the cyclobutyl radical via ring opening, prior to it being captured by helium droplets. On the •C4H7 potential surface, 1,3-butadiene is formed from cyclobutyl ring opening and H atom loss, and the 1-methylallyl radical is the most energetically stable intermediate along the decomposition pathway. The allylcarbinyl radical is a higher-energy •C4H7 intermediate along the ring-opening path, and the spectral signatures of this radical are not observed under the same conditions that produce 1-methylallyl and 1,3-butadiene from the unimolecular decomposition of cyclobutyl.