THE TRANSITION-STATE OF THE F+H-2 REACTION

The transition state region of the F + H-2 reaction has been studied by photoelectron spectroscopy of FH2-. New para and normal FH2- photoelectron spectra have been measured in refined experiments and are compared here with exact three-dimensional quantum reactive scattering simulations that use an accurate new ab initio potential energy surface for F + H-2. The detailed agreement that is obtained between this fully ab initio theory and experiment is unprecedented for the F + H-2 reaction and suggests that the transition state region of the F + H-2 potential energy surface has finally been understood quantitatively.