Scribd
Upload
75 views4 pages

Reaction Mechanisms

The document discusses reaction mechanisms and rate laws. It explains that reactions occur through a series of elementary steps rather than a single step. The slowest elementary step determines the overall rate and is called the rate-determining step. To determine the mechanism, one must determine the rate law experimentally, identify the species involved in the rate-determining step, and propose a series of elementary steps that are consistent with the rate law and reactants and products. Reaction intermediates are formed during the reaction but are not present at the end, and molecularity refers to the number of reacting species (unimolecular, bimolecular, termolecular).

Uploaded by

Aryaa Kapil
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
75 views4 pages

Reaction Mechanisms

The document discusses reaction mechanisms and rate laws. It explains that reactions occur through a series of elementary steps rather than a single step. The slowest elementary step determines the overall rate and is called the rate-determining step. To determine the mechanism, one must determine the rate law experimentally, identify the species involved in the rate-determining step, and propose a series of elementary steps that are consistent with the rate law and reactants and products. Reaction intermediates are formed during the reaction but are not present at the end, and molecularity refers to the number of reacting species (unimolecular, bimolecular, termolecular).

Uploaded by

Aryaa Kapil
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

REACTION MECHANISMS

The rate law expression presents some interesting questions. For


example, why does one reactant increase the rate of a reaction while
another may have no effect on the rate while, it is necessary for the
reaction to occur? Hint: think about the highway example.

Most reactions are made up of a series of steps called ELEMENTARY


STEPS. Elementary steps make up the REACTION MECHANISM not a
single step. Depending on the reacting species, the chemical reaction can
be a single step or many steps for a single reaction there can be many
proposed mechanisms. Note: reaction mechanisms must be determined
experimentally. For this reason, there are many opportunities for research
in this area of chemistry.

Reaction intermediates: species that are formed during the course of the
reaction but immediately react again and are not present when the reaction
is complete.

Molecularity: The number of reacting species:

Unimolecular: collision of single molecule with container walls.

Bimolecular: collision between 2 molecules.

Termolecular: collision between 3 molecules. (Unlikely situation)

Anything higher than 4 molecules colliding is a HIGHLY UNLIKELY


situation. Very rare in nature.
However, not all steps occur at the same rate. In actual fact, the slowest or
RATE DETERMINING STEP determines the overall rate of a chemical
reaction. Therefore, when an increase in concentration of a reactant does
not affect the reaction rate, we conclude that the reactant is not involved in
the rate-determining step of the reaction mechanism for the reaction.

What must be done to determine reaction mechanisms?

1. A rate law equation must be determined based on experimental data.

2. The species present in the rate law are the ones that react the
slowest and thus determine the rate-limiting step.

3. Based on the rate law equation, a ‘probable’ mechanism can be


made to accommodate the rate law.

4. Important: All elementary steps in the proposed mechanisms must


always add to give you the actual reactant and product species that
one starts out with.

Example: 4HBr(g) + O2(g)  2H2O(g) + 2Br2(g)

Note: This reaction involves the collision of 5 molecules to obtain the


products. This is a very unlikely situation. Thus there must be elementary
step that allow for this reaction to occur.

The rate law equation (determined experimentally): r = k [HBr][O 2]

What is the order of the reaction?

Based on the equation above it can be concluded that:


Here is a proposed mechanism of the reaction:

HBr + O2  HOOBr (slow)

HOOBr + HBr  2HOBr (fast)

2{HOBr + HBr  H2O + Br2} (fast)

Generally, the rate equation that is determined experimentally is

r= k [molecule X]m[molecule Y]n

Then the rate-determining step in the mechanism must be:

mX + nY  products or reaction intermediate


So you think you understand…do you?

Example:

Step 1: NO2Cl  NO2 + Cl (slow) *rate-determining step


Step 2: NO2Cl + Cl  NO2 + Cl2 (fast)

Overall equation:

Give an example of a reaction intermediate:

Rate equation based on elementary steps:

Example 3: Deduce elementary steps from


energy profile for the reaction.
Example 2: A + 2B + 2Z  AB2Z2

When a series of reactions is performed with


different initial concentrations of reactants, the
results are as follows:

 Doubling the [A] has no effect on overall


rate
 Doubling the [B] multiples the overall rate
by 4
 Doubling the [Z ]double the overall rate

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy