Abstract

Two intramolecular proton transfer processes were analyzed in terms of the reaction force. The initial phase of each proton transfer was found to be a rotation of the donor-H bond toward the acceptor, coupled with a slight stretching of the former. It was found that as the proton moves more into the domain of the acceptor, the minimum potential energy of the latter rapidly becomes less negative, while that of the donor does the opposite. The transition state was suggested to be one of maximum balance in terms of both the internal charge distribution and the reaction force.