Hydrogen Tunneling Exhibiting Unexpectedly Small Primary Kinetic Isotope Effects

A heavy pickup truck carries its load through a tunnel regardless of its molecular driver (H or D), thereby illustrating unexpectedly small primary H/D kinetic isotopic effects. These surprising results arise from the coupling of the tunneling H/D atoms with the N2 medium, thus highlighting a potential systematic oversight of quantum tunneling in many chemical reactions. More information can be found in the Research Article by C. M. Nunes and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/chem.202401323).