Reaction dynamics of O(¹D)+ H₂, D₂, and HD: Direct evidence for the elusive abstraction pathway and the estimation of its branching

The dependencies of the integral cross sections for the title reactions on collision energies were determined from 0.6 kcal/mol to nearly 6 kcal/mol. The result provides, for the first time, direct and unambiguous experimental evidence for the existence of an abstraction pathway, in addition to the widely accepted inserted one. A reaction barrier of about 1.8 kcal/mol was found for this elusive abstraction channel. The branching of these two microscopic pathways was estimated. An intriguing H/D isotope effect was revealed, which called for further studies.