An ab initio study of the reaction Be(3P) +H2(1Σg+) → BeH(2Σ+)+H(2S)

Abstract
The lowest triplet potential energy surface for the reaction of metastable Be(3P) with H2 has been studied by ab initio SCF–MO and CI calculations. The stationary points along the reaction coordinate were obtained by automatic gradient optimization. Broadside (C2v) attack is found to be favored over the collinear Cv approach and a stable intermediate of C2v symmetry is found for 3BeH2. We discuss experimental implications for the dynamics of this interesting exothermic process.