Dynamic solvent effects on activated chemical reactions. I. Classical effects of reaction path curvature

In gas phase reactions, dynamical recrossings across a phase space dividing surface induced by nonlinear reaction path curvature coupling leads to the breakdown of the fundamental dynamical approximation of classical transition state theory (TST). In the following study, we examine the nature of this breakdown for chemical reaction dynamics occurring in solution. As a model system, we consider the collinear A+BC reaction where reaction path curvature increases as the mass of B becomes small compared to the mass of A and C. We use a London–Eyring–Polanyi–Sato (LEPS) potential to describe the solute interaction and model the influence of the solvent by using a generalized Langevin equation that is further represented by a system of coupled harmonic oscillators. Exact classical rate constants are compared to those obtained from conventional TST and canonical variational transition state theory (CVT) as a function of solvent friction coupling. A harmonic TST analysis at the saddle point of the full system (so...

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