Dynamics of the C(³P) + Ethylene Reaction: A Trajectory Surface Hopping Study

The direct dynamics trajectory surface hopping (DDTSH) method has been employed to study the reaction of C(³P) with ethylene (C₂H₄). Our trajectory simulations show that at a reagent collision energy of 7.36 kcal/mol, there are two possible product channels: propargyl (H₂CCCH) + H and carbene (CH₂) + acetylene (HCCH). Estimated branching ratios based on trajectory propagations indicate that propargyl radical formation is the dominant channel contributing (94.1 ± 5.2) % of the overall products formation with (5.9 ± 1.7)% contribution from the minor CH₂ + HCCH channel. These findings are consistent with earlier experimental observations and theoretical predictions that propargyl (H₂CCCH) formation is the dominant channel for the C(³P) + C₂H₄ collision reaction. Our trajectory simulations, however, unravel five distinctly different dynamical pathways, unlike earlier experimental and theoretical predictions of only two pathways proposed for the formation of propargyl radical, and three different dynamics are followed for the CH₂ + HCCH channel (this channel was not detected experimentally). The computed translational energy distribution for the propargyl + H channel is narrower and showed peak maximum at a lower energy compared to the experimental one. While the center of mass product angular distribution based on our trajectory propagation is nearly isotropic in nature indicating formation of long-lived intermediate complexes, the experimental one was reported to be backward-forward distributed with more intensity in the forward direction indicating the formation of an osculating complex. Our trajectory surface hopping calculations confirm that the effect of intersystem crossing (ISC) is not important for the title reaction presumably because of weak spin-orbit coupling values (<10 cm^-1) for the (C + C₂H₄) system. No trace of cyclic products formation was obtained from our trajectory simulations, which however was predicted to be a minor (2%) product channel, experimentally.