Rate coefficients for the reaction of OH radicals with cis-3-hexene: an experimental and theoretical study

The kinetics of the cis-3-hexene + OH reaction were investigated by an experimental relative rate method and at the density functional theory level. The experimental set-up consisted of a 200 L Teflon bag, operated at atmospheric pressure and 298 K. OH radicals were produced by the photolysis of H2O2 at 254 nm. Relative rate coefficients were determined by comparing the decays of the cis-3-hexene and reference compounds (cyclohexene, 2-buten-1-ol and allyl ether). The mean second-order rate coefficient value found was (6.27 ± 0.66) × 10(-11) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), the uncertainty being estimated by propagation of errors. Theoretical calculations for the addition reaction of OH to cis-3-hexene have also been performed, at the BHandHLYP/aug-cc-pVDZ level, in order to investigate the reaction mechanism, to clarify the experimental observations and to model the reaction kinetics. Different conformations of the reactants, pre-barrier complexes and saddle points were considered in our calculations. The individual rate coefficients, calculated for each conformer of the reactant, at 298 K, using a microcanonical variational transition state method, are 4.19 × 10(-11) and 1.23 × 10(-10) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1). The global rate coefficient was estimated from the Boltzmann distribution of the conformers to be 8.10 × 10(-11) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), which is in agreement with the experimental value. Rate coefficients calculated over the temperature range from 200-500 K are also given. Our results suggest that the complex mechanism, explicitly considering different conformations for the stationary points, must be taken into account for a proper description of the reaction kinetics.