Potential energy surfaces unimolecular reaction rate, isomerization

Reactants AB+ + CD are considered to associate to form a weakly bonded intermediate complex, AB+ CD, the ground vibrational state of which has a barrier to the formation of the more strongly bound form, ABCD+. The reactants, of course, have access to both of these isomeric forms, although the presence of the barrier will affect the rate of unimolecular isomerization between them. Note that the minimum energy barrier may not be accessed in a particular interaction of AB+ with CD since the dynamics, i.e. initial trajectories and the detailed nature of the potential surface, control the reaction coordinate followed. Even in the absence (left hand dashed line in Figure 1) of a formal barrier (i.e. of a local potential maximum), the intermediate will resonate between the conformations having AB+ CD or ABCD+ character. These complexes only have the possibilities of unimolecular decomposition back to AB+ + CD or collisional stabilization. In the stabilization process,... 

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