Reaction of methacrolein with the hydroxyl radical in air: Incorporation of secondary O 2 addition into the MACR OH master equation

Abstract

Methacrolein (MACR) plays an important role in atmospheric chemistry within the planetary boundary layer, as it is one of the major oxidation products of isoprene and has a short lifetime toward the hydroxyl radical (OH). In this study, quantum chemical techniques and statistical reaction rate theory have been used to simulate the addition of OH to MACR at conditions representative of the troposphere. In this chemically activated reaction, the time scales for product formation versus collisional deactivation of the vibrationally excited adduct are explicitly considered. Furthermore, the subsequent addition of O 2 is also incorporated within a single master equation, so as to investigate doub..