Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Vol.112, No.12, 2693-2701, 2008
Theoretical study of the reaction mechanism of HCN+ and CH4 of relevance to Titan's ion chemistry
Titan is the largest satellite of Saturn. In its atmosphere, CH4 is the most abundant neutral after nitrogen. In this paper, the complex doublet potential-energy surface related to the reaction between, HCN+ and CH4 is investigated at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p), CCSD(T)/6-311G++(3df,2pd)(single-point), and QCISD/6-311G(d,p) computational levels. A total of seven products are located on the PES. The initial association of HCN+ with CH4 is found to be a prereaction complex 1 (HCNHCH3+) without barrier. Starting from 1, the most feasible pathway is the direct H-abstraction process (the internal C-H bond dissociation) leading to the product P-1 (HCNH++CH3). By C-C addition, prereaction complex 1 can form intermediate 2 (HNCHCH3+) and then lead to the product P-2 (CH3CNH++H). The rate-controlling step of this process is only 25.6 kcal/mol. It makes the Path P-2 (1) R -> 1 -> TS1/2 -> 2 -> TS2/P-2 -> P-2 another possible way for the reaction. P-3 (HCNCH3+ + H), P-5 (cNCHCH(2)(+) + H-2), and P-6 (NCCH3+ + H-2) are exothermic products, but they have higher barriers (more than 40.0 kcal/mol); P-4 (H + HCN + CH3+) and P-7 (H + H-2 + HCCNH+) are endothermic products. They should be discovered under different experimental or interstellar conditions. The present study may be helpful for investigating the analogous ion-molecule reaction in Titan's atmosphere.