Dissociation of acetone radical cation (CH3COCH3(+*) --> CH3CO(+) + CH3(*)): an ab initio direct classical trajectory study of the energy dependence of the branching ratio.

The nonstatistical dissociation of acetone radical cation has been studied by ab initio direct classical trajectory calculations at the MP2/6-31G(d) level of theory. A bond additivity correction has been used to improve the MP2 potential energy surface (BAC-MP2). The energy dependence of the branching ratio, dissociation kinetics, and translational energy distribution for the two types of methyl groups have been investigated using microcanonical ensembles and specific mode excitation. In each case, the dissociation favors the loss of the newly formed methyl group, in agreement with the experiments. For microcanonical ensembles, the branching ratios for methyl loss are calculated to be 1.43, 1.88, 1.70, and 1.50 for 1, 2, 10, and 18 kcal/mol of excess energy, respectively. The energy dependence of the branching ratio is seen more dramatically in the excitation of individual modes involving C-C-O bending. For modes 3 and 6, the branching ratio rises to 1.6 and 1.8-2.3 when 1 or 2 kcal/mol are added, respectively, but falls off when more energy is added. For mode 8, the branching ratio continues to rise monotonically from 1.5 to 2.76 when 1-8 kcal/mol of excess energy are added.