Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Vol.115, No.49, 14143-14152, 2011
Computational Tests of Models for Kinetic Parameters of Unimolecular Reactions of Organophosphorus and Organosulfur Compounds
A computational study of the kinetics of isomerization and elimination reactions of organophosphorus and organosulfur reactions is presented with a view to characterizing the predictive capabilities of widely applied techniques for processes that pertain to the destruction of chemical warfare agents. A set of 22 reactions has been studied, and the results have been compared to experimentally derived data. The BMK functional and the MG3S basis set have been used to compute minimum energy paths. Corrections have been added from CBS-QB3, CASSCF, and CASMP2 calculations. Thermal rate constants at experimental temperatures have been calculated with canonical variational transition state theory and small-curvature tunneling theory. The quality of these results may depend on recrossing of the variational transition state, the amount of radical or diradical character found in the minimum energy paths, or the accuracy of barrier heights.