Role of weakly bound complexes in temperature-dependence and relative rates of M x O y – + H 2 O ( M = Mo, W) reactions
Results of a systematic comparison of the Mo x O y – + H 2 O and W x O y – + H 2 O reaction rate coefficients are reported and compared to previous experimental and computational studies on these reactions. W x O y – clusters undergo more direct oxidation by water to yield W x O y+1 – + H 2 , while for Mo x O y – clusters, production of Mo x O y H 2 – (trapped intermediates in the oxidation reaction) is comparatively more prevalent. However, Mo x O y – clusters generally have higher rate coefficients than analogous W x O y – clusters if Mo x O y+1 H 2 – formation is included. Results of calculations on the M 2 O y – + H 2 O (M = Mo, W; y = 4, 5) reaction entrance channel are reported. They include charge-dipole complexes formed from long-range interactions, and the requisite conversion to a Lewis acid-base complex that leads to M x O y+1 H 2 – formation. The results predict that the Lewis acid-base complex is more strongly bound for Mo x O y – clusters than for W x O y – clusters. The calculated free energies along this portion of the reaction path are also consistent with the modest anti-Arrhenius temperature dependence measured for most Mo x O y – + H 2 O reactions, and the W x O y – + H 2 O reaction rate coefficients generally being constant over the temperature range sampled in this study. For clusters that exhibit evidence of both water addition and oxidation reactions, increasing the temperature increases the branching ratio toward oxidation for both species. In conclusion, a more direct reaction path to H 2 production may therefore become accessible at modest temperatures for certain cluster stoichiometries and structures.