Water Cluster Mediated Atmospheric Chemistry

Veronica Vaida
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, CIRES
University of Colorado

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Abstract  The importance of water in atmospheric and environmental chemistry initiated recent studies with results documenting catalysis, suppression and anti-catalysis of thermal and photochemical reactions due to hydrogen bonding of reagents with water. Water, even one water molecule in binary complexes, has been shown by quantum chemistry to stabilize the transition state and lower its energy. However, new results underscore the need to evaluate the relative competing rates between reaction and dissipation to elucidate the role of water in chemistry. Water clusters have been used successfully as models for reactions in gas-phase, in aqueous condensed phases and at aqueous surfaces. Fundamental issues in experimental and theoretical chemical physics remain but that work in this field accelerated recently, driven by the importance of this chemistry in planetary atmospheres including but not limited to Earth. J. Chem. Phys. 135, 020901 (2011)

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