Conversion of C5 into C6 cyclic species through the formation of C7 intermediates

We have recently proposed that the addition of C2H2 to the cyclopentadienyl radical can lead to the rapid formation of the cycloheptatrienyl radical and, in succession, of the indenyl radical. These reactions represent an interesting and unexplored route for the enlargement of gas-phase cyclic species. In this work we report ab initio calculations we performed with the aim of investigating in detail the gas-phase reactivity of cycloheptatrienyl and indenyl radicals. We found that the reaction of the cycloheptatrienyl radical with atomic hydrogen can lead to its fast conversion into the more stable benzyl radical. This reaction pathway involves the intermediate formation of heptatriene, norcaradiene, and toluene. Successively we investigated whether this reaction mechanism can be extended to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). For this purpose we studied the reaction of C2H2 with the indenyl radical, which can be considered as a superior homologue of the cyclopentadienyl radical. This reaction proceeds through a pathway similar to that proposed for C5H5 but with a reaction rate about an order of magnitude smaller. The present calculations extend thus the previously proposed C5-C7-C9 mechanism to bicyclic PAH and suggest a fast route for the conversion of C5 into C6 cyclic radicals, mediated by the formation of C7 cyclic species.