Ab initio and transition state theory study of the OH + HO2 → H2O + O2(3Σg−)/O2(1Δg) reactions: yield and role of O2(1Δg) in H2O2 decomposition and in combustion of H2

Reactions of hydroxyl (OH) and hydroperoxyl (HO2) are important for governing the reactivity of combustion systems. We performed post-CCSD(T) ab initio calculations at the W3X-L//CCSD = FC/cc-pVTZ level to explore the triplet ground-state and singlet excited-state potential energy surfaces of the OH + HO2 → H2O + O2(3Σg−)/O2(1Δg) reactions. Using microcanonical and multistructural canonical transition state theories, we calculated the rate constant for the triplet and singlet channels over the temperature range 200–2500 K, represented by k(T) = 3.08 × 1012T0.07 exp(1151/RT) + 8.00 × 1012T0.32 exp(−6896/RT) and k(T) = 2.14 × 106T1.65 exp(−2180/RT) in cm3 mol−1 s−1, respectively. The branching ratios show that the yield of singlet excited oxygen is small (