A multilayered-representation quantum mechanical/molecular mechanics study of the S(N)2 reaction of CH3Br + OH(-) in aqueous solution.

The bimolecular nucleophilic substitution (S(N)2) reaction of CH(3)Br and OH(-) in aqueous solution was investigated using a multilayered-representation quantum mechanical and molecular mechanics methodology. Reactant complex, transition state, and product complex are identified and characterized in aqueous solution. The potentials of mean force are computed under both the density function theory and coupled-cluster single double (triple) (CCSD(T)) levels of theory for the reaction region. The results show that the aqueous environment has a significant impact on the reaction process. The solvation effect and the polarization effect combined raise the activation barrier height by ~16.2 kcal/mol and the solvation effect is the dominant contribution to the potential of mean force. The CCSD(T)/MM representation presents a free energy activation barrier height of 22.8 kcal/mol and the rate constant at 298 K of 3.7 × 10(-25) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) which agree very well with the experiment values at 23.0 kcal/mol and 2.6 × 10(-25) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), respectively.