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Chemical Kinetics: Principles, Rate Laws, and Mechanisms

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Chemical Kinetics

Introduction to Reaction Rates

Chemical kinetics is the study of the speed, or rate, at which chemical reactions occur. The reaction rate measures how quickly reactants are converted into products or how fast products are formed. It is defined as the change in concentration of a reactant or product per unit time.

  • Reaction Rate: for a reaction .

  • Example: The rate can be expressed in terms of the change in concentration of any component in the reaction.

p;'[p;'['p[;

Reaction Rate Changes Over Time

The rate of a reaction typically decreases as reactants are consumed. The reaction may stop when reactants are depleted or equilibrium is reached.

  • Average Rate: Change in concentration over a specific time interval.

  • Instantaneous Rate: Rate at a particular moment, found by the slope of the tangent to a concentration vs. time curve.

Explanation of average and instantaneous rate

Calculating Reaction Rates: Examples

  • Example: For the reaction , if drops from 1.000 M to 0.868 M in 10.0 s, the average rate is calculated as .

Example calculation of average rate

Graphical Determination of Instantaneous Rate

  • Instantaneous rate is determined by the slope of the tangent to the concentration vs. time curve at a specific time.

  • For , the rate at 50 s is found from the slope of vs. .

Graphical determination of instantaneous rate

Factors Affecting Reaction Rate

  • Nature of Reactants: Type, size, reactivity, and phase influence rate.

  • Temperature: Higher temperature generally increases rate.

  • Catalysts: Substances that increase rate without being consumed.

  • Reactant Concentration: Higher concentration (or pressure for gases) increases rate.

Factors affecting reaction rate

Rate Laws and Reaction Order

The Rate Law

The rate law expresses the relationship between the reaction rate and the concentrations of reactants. It must be determined experimentally.

  • General form:

  • and are the orders with respect to and .

  • is the rate constant.

Definition of rate law

Reaction Order

  • The order with respect to a reactant is the exponent of its concentration in the rate law.

  • The overall order is the sum of the exponents.

  • Example: For , (second order in NO, first order in H2, third order overall).

Explanation of reaction order

Example: Determining Rate Law and Effect of Concentration

  • Given: Reaction is second order in NO2, zero order in CO at 100°C.

  • Rate law:

  • Doubling [NO2] quadruples the rate; doubling [CO] has no effect.

Example of rate law and effect of concentration

Determining the Rate Law: Initial Rate Method

  • Run experiments varying one reactant at a time, measure initial rates, and deduce exponents in the rate law.

  • Order cannot be deduced from stoichiometry; must be found experimentally.

Initial rate method for determining rate law

Example: Using Experimental Data to Find Rate Law

  • Given data for , deduce the order and rate constant .

Experiment

Initial Rate (mol/L·s)

Initial [NO2] (mol/L)

Initial [CO] (mol/L)

1

0.0050

0.10

0.10

2

0.0080

0.20

0.10

3

0.0060

0.10

0.20

Experimental data table for rate law determination

The Rate Constant (k)

  • k is determined experimentally and its units depend on the reaction order.

  • For a zero-order reaction: (units: mol/L·s)

  • For a first-order reaction: (units: s-1)

  • For a second-order reaction: (units: L/mol·s)

Units of the rate constant for different orders

Integrated Rate Laws

General Integrated Rate Laws

Integrated rate laws relate concentration to time and are used to determine reaction order from experimental data.

  • Zero-order:

  • First-order:

  • Second-order:

Summary of integrated rate laws

Zero Order Reactions

  • Rate law:

  • Integrated:

  • Plot of vs. is linear with slope .

Zero order reaction integrated law and plot

First Order Reactions

  • Rate law:

  • Integrated:

  • Plot of vs. is linear with slope .

First order reaction integrated law and plot

Second Order Reactions

  • Rate law:

  • Integrated:

  • Plot of vs. is linear with slope .

Second order reaction integrated law and plot

Graphical Methods for Determining Reaction Order

  • Plot vs. : Linear for zero order.

  • Plot vs. : Linear for first order.

  • Plot vs. : Linear for second order.

Graphical method for determining reaction order

Half-Life of a Reaction

The half-life () is the time required for the concentration of a reactant to decrease to half its initial value.

  • First-order: (independent of initial concentration)

  • Second-order: (inversely proportional to initial concentration)

  • Zero-order: (directly proportional to initial concentration)

Half-life equations and plot

Theories of Reaction Rates

Collision Theory

  • Reactant particles must collide to react.

  • Increasing concentration increases collision frequency and reaction rate.

  • Number of collisions depends on the product of reactant concentrations.

Collision theory explanation

Activation Energy

  • Collisions must have sufficient energy (activation energy, ) to be effective.

  • Particles form an activated complex or transition state at the energy barrier.

  • Lower means a faster reaction.

Activation energy and transition state

Temperature and the Rate Constant: Arrhenius Equation

  • Rate constant increases exponentially with temperature.

  • Arrhenius equation:

  • Linear form:

Arrhenius equation and temperature dependence

Effect of Temperature on Collision

  • Higher temperature increases the fraction of collisions with energy greater than .

Effect of temperature on collision energy distribution

Catalysts

Role and Effect of Catalysts

  • A catalyst increases reaction rate by providing an alternative pathway with lower activation energy.

  • Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and do not affect the overall energy change ().

Catalyst effect on activation energy diagram

Reaction Mechanisms

Elementary Steps and Molecularity

  • The mechanism is the sequence of elementary steps making up the overall reaction.

  • Molecularity is the number of particles involved in an elementary step.

  • The slowest step is the rate-determining step and controls the overall rate law.

Elementary Step

Molecularity

Rate Law

A → product

Unimolecular

Rate = k[A]

A + B → product

Bimolecular

Rate = k[A][B]

2A → product

Bimolecular

Rate = k[A]^2

A + B + C → product

Termolecular

Rate = k[A][B][C]

Reaction mechanisms and molecularity

Validating Mechanisms

  • Elementary steps must sum to the overall reaction.

  • Predicted rate law must match experimental rate law.

Validation of reaction mechanisms

Energy Diagrams for Multistep Mechanisms

  • Each step has its own activation energy and transition state.

  • The step with the highest activation energy is rate-limiting.

Energy diagram for a two-step mechanism

Mixed Mechanisms (with Equilibrium Steps)

  • Some mechanisms involve fast equilibrium steps followed by a slow step.

  • Intermediates do not appear in the overall rate law.

Mixed mechanisms with equilibrium step

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