Insight into the reaction mechanism of CH2SH with HO2: A density functional theory study

Density functional theory was adopted in this work to reveal the reaction mechanism of CH2SH with HO2. Reaction rate constants were computed from 200 to 2000 K using the transition state theory combined with Wigner and Eckart tunneling correction. Moreover, localized orbital locator, atoms in molecules and Mayer bond order analyses were used to study the essence of chemical bonding evolution. Eleven singlet paths and three triplet ones are located on the potential surface (PES). The results show that the main products on the singlet PES are 1CH(2)S and H2O2, whereas on the triplet PES they are CH3SH + 3O(2), which are coincident with the similar reaction of CH3S and HO2. This conclusion is also supported by rate constant calculation results. Interestingly, all the possible paths are involved in the hydrogen transfer. The results have provided underlying insights to the analogous reactions and further experimental studies.