Stereodynamics of the reactions of O(1D) with C2H4 and C2H6

Stereodynamics of the reactions of O(1D) with C2H4 and C2H6 have been observed with Doppler-resolved polarization spectroscopy. The differential cross-sections suggest that each reaction proceeds via an insertion pathway involving an alcohol-type intermediate complex. The angular momentum polarization indicated a primary contribution of the H–O–C bending motion of the complexes to the product rotation for both reactions. For the C2H4 reaction, the spatial correlation between the incident direction of the oxygen atom and the OH plane of rotation is lost because of the structural change of the complex accompanied by keto–enol tautomerization.