Photodissociation Dynamics of H <sub>2</sub> S via the 3 <sup>1</sup> <i>A</i> ′ State: Dominance of Dual Intersection-Induced Barriers
Hydrogen sulfide (H<sub>2</sub>S), a major sulfur carrier in the interstellar medium, undergoes ultraviolet photodissociation that shapes interstellar sulfur chemistry and sulfur isotope fractionation. Here we construct a four-state diabatic potential energy matrix for the lowest four <sup>1</sup><i>A</i>' states of H<sub>2</sub>S using high-level <i>ab initio</i> data and a neural-network-based diabatization scheme. Quantum wave packet dynamics on the 3<sup>1</sup><i>A</i>' state reproduce the main experimental features of the H + SH(X<sup>2</sup>Π/A<sup>2</sup>Σ<sup>+</sup>) internal energy distributions at 143.15 nm, with minor discrepancies likely due to the unaccounted contributions of <sup>1</sup><i>A</i>″ states. Trajectory surface-hopping simulations show that H<sub>2</sub>S undergoes transient trapping in a basin formed by dual intersection-induced barriers on the 2<sup>1</sup><i>A</i>' surface. This dual-barrier topology restricts dissociation to a narrow escape pathway along the bond-angle coordinate, promoting SH(A<sup>2</sup>Σ<sup>+</sup>) formation. The results reveal a new mechanism in which dual intersection-induced barriers govern product branching in high-lying electronic states.
Authors
- Xixi Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1530-3015)
- Junjie Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4509-2271)
- Shanyu Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5482-6658)
- Daiqian Xie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7185-7085)
- Xin Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6185-5489)
- Junyan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5409-1292)
Institutions
- Chongqing University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Hefei University (CN)
- Key Laboratory of Guangdong Province (CN)
- Mineral Resources (AU)
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering (CN)
- Ministry of Education and Child Care (CA)
- Nanjing University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
- Published
- 2025-12-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.5c03400
- Primary Topic
- Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00