Conformation-specific reactions of Criegee intermediates.

Abstract

Carbonyl oxides, known as Criegee intermediates, play crucial roles in atmospheric chemistry and climate change. The novel production methods and direct detection of these gaseous Criegee intermediates in laboratories, developed about a decade ago, have stimulated related research and significantly enhanced our understanding of the roles of Criegee intermediates in atmospheric chemistry. Numerous reviews and perspective articles on Criegee intermediates have been published. This perspective focuses on recent experimental developments in conformation-specific gaseous reactions of Criegee intermediates, including their unimolecular decomposition, self-reactions, and reactions with important atmospheric species; related theoretical results are also included. It also discusses the identification of the conformation-specific reaction products and their subsequent reactions to elucidate the reaction mechanisms. In addition, we highlight some unresolved issues and challenges in this critical field of research.