Collisions between molecules are rapid; therefore, reactions that occur spontaneously whenever the reagents collide are fast at ordinary concentrations. However, a reaction may be restricted in rate by its dependence on the occurrence of molecular collisions, because, for example, the reagents are present in such small amounts that reactions can only occur when they happen to encounter one another. Such a reaction is said to be diffusion-controlled, because it is dependent on the process of diffusion to bring the molecules together. In such cases the viscosity of the medium is relevant; the more viscous, or “thick,” the medium, the more difficult the diffusion and the slower the reaction.

However, most reactions involve a rate-limiting energy barrier, and it is the nature of this barrier and of the molecular configuration at its top that determines the mechanism. Diagrams of energy changes during the course of reaction often are used to illustrate the energetic aspects of the reaction. An example of a possible energy diagram for a hypothetical one-stage process—the dissociation in a solution of a covalent molecule designated E–N, into its ions, E⁺ and N⁻—is shown in the figure.

In this diagram the energy is plotted against a reaction coordinate—a spatial relationship that varies smoothly during the course of the reaction—in this case the distance between the portions of the molecule designated E and N. At the left-hand energy minimum of the figure, the bond between E and N is fully formed; if energy is applied to excite the system in such a way that E and N are brought even closer together (region a of the figure), the atomic nuclei repel, with the result that energy rises steeply. Alternatively, excitation energy, such as thermal energy from collisions with other molecules, may stretch the bond, and the energy curve then moves into region b. The E–N bond is thereby weakened steadily until the transition state is reached. This point, as can be seen in the figure, has an energy peak on the reaction coordinate. At the same time, this point represents the minimum energy required to convert the reactants into the products. The curve shown should be considered as only a planar section of a three-dimensional energy surface relating to the various possible spatial relations between the components of the reaction. The passage of the reactants from the initial state to the products then can be thought of as analogous to the climb from a valley (the initial state) through the lowest mountain pass leading to a second valley (the products). Thus, although the transition state represents a peak on the single curve depicted, it really represents a secondary minimum (or pass) in the energy surface. From the top of this pass (the transition state), the molecule can only descend, losing energy by collision. In doing so it may revert to the starting materials, or it may dissociate to give the products (region c in the figure). The products in the case of the reaction chosen are the ions E⁺ and N⁻, which are held together by electrostatic attraction as an ion pair at the right-hand minimum of the graph; beyond this point, further separation of the ions involves the consumption of energy (region d). In principle, the products may lie at higher or (as shown) lower energy than that of the initial state. The mechanism of a reaction such as this may be considered to be completely defined when the structures and energy properties of the starting materials, the products, and the transition state are known.

Ultimately, it should become possible to compute the properties of the molecules solely from the properties of their constituent atoms and also to deduce the transition states for any of the reactions these molecules may undergo. For a few simple situations, approaches already have been made to definitions of mechanism in this degree of detail. Systems involving several atoms, however, require a many-dimensional representation of the reaction course instead of the two-dimensional description shown in the figure. The problems of computation, and of testing theory against experiment, then become enormous. Nonetheless, attempts have been made to deal with some simple reactions of systems involving up to about five atoms.

For a reaction involving several distinct stages, a more complicated description of the reaction course also is necessary. The figure gives an example of such a situation. This hypothetical reaction is reversible, with three successive intermediate complexes formed between the reactants. Unlike the case of the simpler situation above, the physical process that best approximates what is happening along the reaction coordinate changes from stage to stage across the diagram.

Britannica Quiz

Types of Chemical Reactions

The highest point on the energy diagram corresponds to the energy of the transition state of the rate-limiting step in the reaction—that is, the slowest step in the reaction, the one that governs, or limits, the overall rate. The rate of reaction is independent of the nature and number of the intermediates that lie before this transition state on the reaction coordinate. Progress along the reaction coordinate cannot be identified with the time course of the reaction because any individual pair of reactants may reside for an appreciable time in the partially activated state represented by one of the intermediate complexes before final reaction is achieved. Once the reactants have passed the rate-limiting transition state, they must lose energy (usually by collision with other molecules) to reach the final state. In a sense, the reaction coordinate in such a reaction may be thought of as representing the chemical course of the reaction (rather than a spatial or a time course). If the diagram represents the only reaction of the system, then it is possible to apply the principle of microscopic reversibility, which states that the course taken by reverse action will be statistically identical with that taken by the forward reaction. This principle is not applicable to a reaction giving several different products not at equilibrium with one another, however.