Publications by authors named "Tam V T Mai"

This study provides a detailed understanding of how the reaction between CHNH, one of the primary products of the CHNH + OH/Cl reactions, and NO occurs in the atmosphere since the reaction is expected to be a dominant sink for the tropospheric CHNH radical. First, we focus on the reaction of the aminyl radical CHNH with NO, complementing the known reaction between CHNH and NO, to provide the overall picture of the CHNH + NO system. The reaction was meticulously examined across the extended range of temperature (298-2000 K) and pressure (0.

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Hymexazol is a volatile fungicide widely used in agriculture, causing its abundance in the atmosphere; thus, its atmospheric fate and conversion are of great importance when assessing its environmental impacts. Herein, we report a theoretical kinetic mechanism for the oxidation of hymexazol by OH radicals, as well as the subsequent reactions of its main products with O and then with NO by using the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus-based Master equation kinetic model on the potential energy surface explored at the ROCBS-QB3//M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level. The predicted total rate constants (, ) for the reaction between hymexazol and OH radicals show excellent agreement with scarcely available experimental values (e.

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The widespread use of vinyl butyrate (CHCHOC(O)CHCHCH or VB) in the polymer industry and daily-life materials inevitably results in its emission into the atmosphere. Therefore, understanding the mechanism and kinetics of the VB conversion is critical for evaluating its fate and environmental impacts. Herein, we theoretically investigate the chemical transformation of VB initiated by OH radicals in the atmosphere using the stochastic Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM)-based master equation kinetic model on the potential energy surface explored at the M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory.

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In this study, a series of 14 Cu (II), Zn (II), Ni (II) and Ag (I) complexes containing bis-benzimidazole derivatives were successfully designed and synthesized from 2-(1-benzimidazole-2-yl)-phenol derivatives and corresponding metal salt solutions. The compound structures were identified by FT-IR, H-NMR, powder X-ray diffraction and ESI-MS analyses, and the presence of the metal in the complexes was confirmed by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and ICP optical emission spectrometry. Electronic structure calculations were also carried out to describe the detailed structures in addition to the electronic absorption spectra of the ligands.

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Diterpenoids are abundant and important compounds in Euphorbia species owing to their structural diversity; therefore, in this study, we investigate the modern-concept antioxidant activities, including free-radical scavenging and oxidative DNA damage repairing, of highly oxygenated diterpenoids originating from the aerial part of . Four compounds with structural types of -abietane, containing a fused furan ring in their structures, including euphelionolide A (), euphelionolide D (), euphelionolide I (), and euphelionolide L () are selected. First, the radical-scavenging activity of these compounds was evaluated with two typical radicals HOO and HO in water and pentyl ethanoate (PEA, to mimic lipid environment) via three main mechanisms, namely, hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), radical adduct formation (RAF), and single electron transfer.

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This work presents the OH-initiated oxidation kinetics of 1,4-cyclochexadiene (1,4-CHD). The temperature dependence of the reaction was investigated by utilizing a laser flash photolysis flow reactor and laser-induced fluorescence (LPFR/LIF) technique over the temperature range of 295-438 K and a pressure of ∼50 torr. The kinetics of the reaction was followed by measuring the LIF signal of OH radicals near 308 nm.

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This work reports a detailed mechanism of the initial thermal pyrolysis of isopropyl propionate, (CHC(=O)OCH(CH)), an important biodiesel additive/surrogate, for a wide range of = 500-2000 K and = 7.6-76 000 Torr. The detailed kinetic behaviors of the title reaction on the potential energy surface constructed at the CBS-QB3 level were investigated using the RRKM-based master equation (RRKM-ME) rate model, including hindered internal rotation (HIR) and tunneling corrections.

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This study theoretically reports the comprehensive kinetic mechanism of the aniline + OH reaction in the range of 200-2000 K and 0.76-7600 Torr. The temperature- and pressure-dependent behaviors, including time-resolved species profiles and rate coefficients, were studied within the stochastic RRKM-based master equation framework with the reaction energy profile, together with molecular properties of the species involved, characterized at the M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level.

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The statistical molecular fragmentation (SMF) model was used to analyze the 306 fragmentation channels (containing 611 different species) that result from the fluorene (C13H10+) cation losing up to three hydrogen atoms (neutral radicals and/or a proton). Breakdown curves from such analysis permit one to extract experimentally inaccessible information about the fragmentation of the fluorene cation, such as the locations of the lost hydrogen atoms (or proton), yields of the neutral fragments, electronic states of the residues, and quantification of very low probability channels that would be difficult to detect. Charge localization during the fragmentation pathways was studied to provide a qualitative understanding of the fragmentation process.

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In this study, the detailed kinetic mechanism of the trans-decalin + OH reaction is firstly investigated for a wide range of conditions (i.e., T = 200-2000 K & P = 0.

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The comprehensive kinetic mechanism of the OH-initiated gas-phase oxidation of pyrrole is first theoretically reported in a broad range of conditions (T = 200-2000 K &P = 1-7600 Torr). On the potential energy surface constructed at the M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level, the temperature- and pressure-dependent behaviors of the title reaction were characterized using the stochastic Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus based Master Equation (RRKM-ME) rate model. The corrections of the hindered internal rotation and quantum tunneling treatments were included.

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The detailed reaction mechanism of the NH + OH reaction is comprehensively reported for a wide range of conditions (i.e., T = 200-3000 K & P = 1-7600 Torr) using the CCSD(T)/CBS//M06-2X/6-311++G(3df,2p) level and the master equation/Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (ME/RRKM) rate model, which includes corrections of the hindered internal rotor (HIR) and tunneling treatments.

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This work provides a rigorous detailed kinetic study on the CH + NH reaction in a wide range of conditions (T = 250-2000 K & P = 1-76000 Torr). In particular, the composite method W1U was used to construct the potential energy surface on which the kinetic behaviors were characterized within the state-of-the-art master equation/Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (ME/RRKM) framework. Corrections of the hindered internal rotation (HIR) treatment and quantum tunneling effect were included.

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The C2F4 + O3 reaction plays an important role in the oxidation process of perfluoroalkenes in the atmosphere. The detailed reaction mechanism was explored using the accurate electronic structure method, CCSD(T)/CBS//B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ. The 1,3-cycloaddition of O3 with C2F4 to form the primary ozonide was found to be the rate-determining step of the oxidation process with a small barrier (i.

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In an attempt to construct detailed kinetic mechanisms for biodiesel fuels on the fly, high-pressure rate rules for the concerted HO elimination reaction class were derived using a comprehensive training reaction set of more than 60 reactions involving different alkyl methyl/ethyl ester peroxy radicals (RCOOR')-OO. Using the composite electronic structure method CBS-QB3 in combination with classical statistical mechanics and the transition state theory (TST) rate model, high-pressure rate constants for the reactions in the training set as well as thermodynamic properties for the species involved were calculated. The corrections from Eckart tunneling and hindered internal rotation (HIR) treatments were also included in the calculations.

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This work provides a rigorous procedure, within the framework of the Reaction Class Transition State Theory (RC-TST) and the Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR), for predicting reliable thermal rate constants on-the-fly for hydrogen abstraction reactions by methyl/ethyl radicals from Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a temperature range of 300-3000 K. All necessary RC-TST parameters were derived from ab initio calculations for a representative set of 36 reactions on which different error analyses and comparisons with available literature data were carried out. In addition to the good agreement between the RC-TST rate constants and the literature data, the detailed error analyses show that RC-TST/SAR, utilizing either the Linear Energy Relationship (LER) where only the reaction energy is needed or Barrier Height Grouping (BHG) where no additional data is needed, can predict the thermal rate constants for any reaction in the title reaction class with an average systematic error of less than 50% when compared to the explicit rate calculations.

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The detailed kinetic mechanism of the HOSO + O reaction, which plays a pivotal role in the atmospheric oxidation of SO, was investigated using accurate electronic structure calculations and novel statistical thermodynamic/kinetic models. Explored using the accurate composite method W1U, the detailed potential energy surface (PES) revealed that the addition of O to a HOSO radical to form the adduct (HOSO) proceeds via a transition state with a slightly positive barrier (i.e.

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Master equation/Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (ME/RRKM) has shown to be a powerful framework for modeling kinetic and dynamic behaviors of a complex gas-phase chemical system on a complicated multiple-species and multiple-channel potential energy surface (PES) for a wide range of temperatures and pressures. Derived from the ME time-resolved species profiles, the macroscopic or phenomenological rate coefficients are essential for many reaction engineering applications including those in combustion and atmospheric chemistry. Therefore, in this study, a least-squares-based approach named Global Minimum Profile Error (GMPE) was proposed and implemented in the MultiSpecies-MultiChannel (MSMC) code (Int.

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An integrated deterministic and stochastic model within the master equation/Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (ME/RRKM) framework was first used to characterize temperature- and pressure-dependent behaviors of thermal decomposition of acetic anhydride in a wide range of conditions (i.e., 300-1500 K and 0.

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The reaction kinetics of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and OH radicals were investigated behind reflected shock waves over the temperature range of 872-1295 K and at pressures near 1.5 atm. Reaction progress was monitored by detecting OH radicals at 306.

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This paper presents a computational study on the low-temperature mechanism and kinetics of the reaction between molecular oxygen and alkyl radicals of methyl propanoate (MP), which plays an important role in low-temperature oxidation and/or autoignition processes of the title fuel. Their multiple reaction pathways either accelerate the oxidation process via chain branching or inhibit it by forming relatively stable products. The potential energy surfaces of the reactions between three primary MP radicals and molecular oxygen, namely, C(•)H2CH2COOCH3 + O2, CH3C(•)HCOOCH3 + O2, and CH3CH2COOC(•)H2 + O2, were constructed using the accurate composite CBS-QB3 method.

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