Low temperature kinetics of the CH3OH + OH reaction

The rate constant of the reaction between methanol and the hydroxyl radical has been studied in the temperature range 56-202 K by pulsed laser photolysis-laser induced fluorescence in two separate experiments using either a low temperature flow tube coupled to a time-of-flight mass spectrometer or a pulsed Laval nozzle apparatus. The two independent techniques yield rate constants that are in mutual agreement and consistent with the results reported previously below 82 K [Shannon et al. Nat. Chem. 2013, 5, 745-749] and above 210 K [Dillon et al. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2005, 7, 349-355], showing a very sharp increase with decreasing temperature with an onset around 180 K. This onset is also signaled by strong chemiluminescence tentatively assigned to formaldehyde, which is consistent with the formation of the methoxy radical at low temperature by quantum tunnelling, and its subsequent reaction with H and OH. Our results add confidence to the previous low temperature rate constant measurements and consolidate the experimental reference data set for further theoretical work required to describe quantitatively the tunnelling mechanism operating in this reaction. An additional measurement of the rate constant at 56 K yielded a value of (4.9 ± 0.8) × 10(-11) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) (2σ), showing that the rate constant is increasing less rapidly at temperatures below 70 K.