Ab initio study of ice catalyzation of HOCl plus HCl reaction

Experiments proved that the reaction of HOCl + HCl was very slow in the gas phase, but on ice surface it was rapid. In this work the ice catalysis of HOCl + HCl reaction was investigated by using ab initio molecular orbital theory. We applied the I Hartree-Fock self-consistent field and the second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation theory with the basis sets of 6-31G* to the model system. The complexes and transition state were obtained along the reaction with and without the presence of ice surface. By comparing the results, a possible catalyzation mechanism of ice on the reaction is proposed. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.