Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis
60 terms · page 1 of 3
Activated Complex
The transient arrangement of atoms present at the transition state, poised between reactants and products.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisActivation Energy
The minimum energy that colliding particles must possess for a reaction to occur.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisActive Site
The specific region of a catalyst or enzyme at which the reacting molecules bind and are transformed.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisAdsorption
The accumulation of molecules of a gas or liquid on the surface of a solid.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisArrhenius Equation
The equation describing how a rate constant varies with temperature and activation energy.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisAutocatalysis
Catalysis of a reaction by one of its own products.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisAverage Rate
The overall change in concentration divided by the total time interval over which it occurred.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisBimolecular Reaction
An elementary step in which two species collide and react.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisCatalysis
The process by which a reaction rate is increased through the action of a catalyst.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisCatalyst
A substance that increases the rate of a reaction by providing an alternative pathway of lower activation energy, without being consumed.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisCatalyst Poisoning
The loss of catalytic activity caused by a substance binding irreversibly to the active sites.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisChain Reaction
A self-sustaining reaction sequence in which a reactive intermediate regenerates itself at each cycle.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisChemical Kinetics
The study of reaction rates, the factors that influence them, and the step-by-step mechanisms by which reactions occur.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisChemisorption
Strong adsorption in which actual chemical bonds form between the adsorbate and the surface.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisCollision Frequency
The number of collisions occurring per unit volume per unit time in a reacting mixture.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisCollision Theory
The model that explains reaction rates in terms of the frequency, energy and orientation of collisions between reacting particles.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisComplex Reaction
An overall reaction that proceeds through two or more elementary steps.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisEffective Collision
A collision that actually leads to reaction because it has both sufficient energy and correct orientation.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisElementary Reaction
A reaction that occurs in a single step exactly as written, with no detectable intermediate.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisEnergy Profile Diagram
A plot of potential energy against reaction coordinate showing reactants, transition states, intermediates and products.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisEnzyme Catalysis
Catalysis by protein molecules that bind substrates at a specific active site and lower the activation energy dramatically.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisFirst-Order Reaction
A reaction whose rate is directly proportional to the concentration of a single reactant.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisFree Radical Chain Mechanism
A chain mechanism in which the propagating intermediates are species bearing unpaired electrons.
Chemical Kinetics & CatalysisFreundlich Adsorption Isotherm
An empirical relation describing adsorption on heterogeneous surfaces with a distribution of site energies.