Formation pathways of DMSO(2) in the addition channel of the OH-initiated DMS oxidation: A theoretical study.

The production of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and dimethyl sulfone (DMSO(2)) in the dimethyl sulfide (DMS) degradation scheme initiated by the hydroxyl (OH) radical has been shown to be very sensitive to nitrogen oxides (NO(x)) levels. In the present work we have explored the potential energy surfaces corresponding to several reaction pathways which yield DMSO(2) from the CH(3)S(O)(OH)CH(3) adduct [including the formation of CH(3)S(O)(OH)CH(3) from the reaction of DMSO with OH] and the reaction channels that yield DMSO or/and DMSO(2) from the CH(3)S(O(2))(OH)CH(3) adduct are also studied. The formation of the CH(3)S(O(2))(OH)CH(3) adduct from CH(3)S(OH)CH(3) (DMS-OH) and O(2) was analyzed in our previous work. All these pathways due to the presence of NO(x) (NO and NO(2)) and also due to the reactions with O(2), OH and HO(2) are compared with the objective of inferring their kinetic relevance in the laboratory experiments that measure DMSO(2) (and DMSO) formation yields. In particular, our theoretical results clearly show the existence of NO(x)-dependent pathways leading to the formation of DMSO(2), which could explain some of these experimental results in comparison with experimental measurements carried out in NO(x)-free conditions. Our results indicate that the relative importance of the addition channel in the DMS oxidation process can be dependent on the NO(x) content of chamber experiments and of atmospheric conditions.