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Hydrofluoroolefins are being adopted as sustainable alternatives to long-lived fluorine- and chlorine-containing gases and are finding current or potential mass-market applications as refrigerants, among a myriad of other uses. Their olefinic bond affords relatively rapid reaction with hydroxyl radicals present in the atmosphere, leading to short lifetimes and proportionally small global warming potentials. However, this type of functionality also allows reaction with ozone, and whilst these reactions are slow, we show that the products of these reactions can be extremely long-lived. Our chamber measurements show that several industrially important hydrofluoroolefins produce CHF₃(fluoroform, HFC-23), a potent, long-lived greenhouse gas. When this process is accounted for in atmospheric chemical and transport modeling simulations, we find that the total radiative effect of certain compounds can be several times that of the direct radiative effect currently recommended by the World Meteorological Organization. Our supporting quantum chemical calculations indicate that a large range of exothermicity is exhibited in the initial stages of ozonolysis, which has a powerful influence on the CHF₃yield. Furthermore, we identify certain molecular configurations that preclude the formation of long-lived greenhouse gases. This demonstrates the importance of product quantification and ozonolysis kinetics in determining the overall environmental impact of hydrofluoroolefin emissions. 

The acetylperoxy + HO 2 reaction has multiple impacts on the troposphere, with a triplet pathway leading to peracetic acid + O 2 (reaction (1a)) competing with singlet pathways leading to acetic acid + O 3 (reaction (1b)) and acetoxy + OH + O 2 (reaction (1c)). A recent experimental study has reported branching fractions for these three pathways ( α 1a , α 1b , and α 1c ) from 229 K to 294 K. We constructed a theoretical model for predicting α 1a , α 1b , and α 1c using quantum chemical and Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus/master equation (RRKM/ME) simulations. Our main quantum chemical method was Weizmann-1 Brueckner Doubles (W1BD) theory; we combined W1BD and equation-of-motion spin-flip coupled cluster (SF) theory to treat open-shell singlet structures. Using RRKM/ME simulations that included all conformers of acetylperoxy–HO 2 pre-reactive complexes led to a 298 K triplet rate constant, k 1a = 5.11 × 10 −12 cm 3 per molecule per s, and values of α 1a in excellent agreement with experiment. Increasing the energies of all singlet structures by 0.9 kcal mol −1 led to a combined singlet rate constant, k 1b+1c = 1.20 × 10 −11 cm 3 per molecule per s, in good agreement with experiment. However, our predicted variations in α 1b and α 1c with temperature are not nearly as large as those measured, perhaps due to the inadequacy of SF theory in treating the transition structures controlling acetic acid + O 3 formation vs. acetoxy + OH + O 2 formation. 

1,3-Diiodo-5-nitrobenzene, C₆H₃I₂NO₂, and 1,3-dibromo-5-nitrobenzene, C₆H₃Br₂NO₂, crystallize in the centrosymmetric space groupP2₁/m, and are isostructural with 1,3-dichloro-5-nitrobenzene, C₆H₃Cl₂NO₂, that has been redetermined at 100 K for consistency. While the three-dimensional packing in all three structures is similar, the size of the halogen atom affects the nonbonded close contacts observed between molecules. Thus, the structure of 1,3-diiodo-5-nitrobenzene features a close Type 1 I...I contact, the structure of 1,3-dibromo-5-nitrobenzene features a self-complementary nitro-O...Br close contact, while the structure of 1,3-dichloro-5-nitrobenzene also has a self-complementary nitro-O...Cl interaction, as well as a bifurcated C—H...O(nitro) close contact. Notably, the major energetically attractive intermolecular interaction between adjacent molecules in each of the three structures corresponds to a π-stacked interaction. The self-complementary halogen...O(nitro) and C—H...O(nitro) interactions correspond to significant cohesive attraction between molecules in each structure, while the Type 1 halogen–halogen contact is weakly cohesive.