Some kinetic principles

The kinetic behavior of an ordinary chemical reaction is conventionally studied in the first instance by determining how the reaction rate is influenced by certain external factors such as the concentrations of the reacting substances, the temperature, and sometimes the pressure. For a reaction in which two substances A and B react with each other, it is sometimes found that the reaction rate is proportional to the concentration of A, represented by [A], and to the concentration of B, or [B]. In that case the reaction is said to be a second-order reaction; it is first order in [A] and first order in [B]. In such a case the reaction rate v can be expressed as v = k[A][B], where k is a constant, known as the rate constant for the reaction.

This is just one of many types of kinetics that can be observed. A substance A that changes into another substance may obey a kinetic equation of the form v = k[A], which is a first-order reaction. It is important to recognize that the kinetics of a reaction does not always correspond in a simple way to the balanced chemical equation for the reaction. Thus, if a reaction is of the form A + B ⇌ Y + Z, the reaction is not necessarily second-order in both directions. This is in contrast to the situation with the equilibrium constant for the reaction, which corresponds to the balanced equation. The reason why the kinetic law is different is that the reactions in the forward and reverse directions may occur by stepwise mechanisms that lead to a different and usually more complex kinetic equation.

Sometimes reaction rates depend on reactant concentrations in a more complicated way. This is a clear indication that a reaction happens in several steps (see below Composite reaction mechanisms).

The effect of temperature on reaction rates provides much information about reaction mechanisms. Understanding of this effect owes much to the ideas of the Dutch physical chemist Jacobus Henricus van ’t Hoff and the Swedish chemist Svante August Arrhenius. Their equation for the dependence of a rate constant k on the absolute temperature T is k = A exp (−E/RT), where R is the molar gas constant and A and E are quantities that are different for each reaction. This equation has come to be called the Arrhenius equation, although, as Arrhenius acknowledged when he applied it in 1889, it was first suggested by van ’t Hoff in 1884. According to this relationship, a plot of the logarithm of the rate constant against the reciprocal of the absolute temperature should yield a straight line. From the slope and intercepts of the line, it is possible to calculate the value of the kinetic parameters A and E. The Arrhenius relationship applies satisfactorily to most reactions and indeed to many physical processes; however, various complications may cause it to fail.

If the reaction between two molecules is an elementary one, occurring in a single step, a simple interpretation of the Arrhenius equation can be given. The quantity A is related to the frequency of collisions between the reacting molecules. The quantity E, known as the activation energy for the reaction, results from the fact that there is an energy barrier to reaction. If E was zero, k would be equal to A, which means that the reaction would occur every time a collision occurred between the reactant molecules. This is the case for reactions in which no chemical bond is broken, such as the combination of atoms.

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For reactions in which a chemical bond is broken, on the other hand, the activation energy E is not zero but has a value that is often a tenth or so of the energy required to break the bond. A simple and essentially correct explanation of the activation energy was suggested by Arrhenius, who pointed out that, for many reactions, raising the temperature by 10 °C (18 °F) doubles the reaction rate. This increase cannot be caused by the increase in the frequency of collisions between colliding molecules, since the frequency does not increase sufficiently with a rise in temperature. Arrhenius suggested that when reactants A and B react together, they first form a highly energized intermediate that is denoted as AB^‡, which subsequently gives the products of reaction: A + B ⇌ AB^‡ → Y + Z.

If the intermediate complex (also called the activated complex) AB^‡ is of high energy, it is formed only in small amounts. According to the Boltzmann principle, the fraction of molecules having energy greater than E is exp (−E/RT), which provides an explanation of the appearance of this fraction in the Arrhenius equation. The interpretation of the equation is thus that only those molecules having energy greater than E are able to undergo reaction; other collisions are ineffective, and the reactant molecules merely separate unchanged. (See below Theories of reaction rates.)