Elementary reaction, defined

On a molecular level, reactions occur by coUisions between molecules, and the rate is usually proportional to the density of each reacting molecule. We will return to the subject of reaction mechanisms and elementary reactions in Chapter 4. Here we define elementary reactions more simply and loosely as reactions whose kinetics agree with their stoichiometry. This relationship between stoichiometry and kinetics is sometimes called the Law of Mass Action, although it is by no means a fundamental law of nature, and it is frequently invalid. 

The first reaction we will discuss is the ligand migration reaction, or, as it is sometimes called, the insertion reaction. This well defined elementary reaction is a step in many important reactions of organometallics, including several catalytic processes of industrial importance. For a general review see Basolo and Pearson 36), or Schrauzer 37). 

Gas-phase reactions play a fundamental role in nature, for example atmospheric chemistry [1, 2, 3, 4 and 5] and interstellar chemistry [6], as well as in many teclmical processes, for example combustion and exliaust fiime cleansing [7, 8 and 9], Apart from such practical aspects the study of gas-phase reactions has provided the basis for our understanding of chemical reaction mechanisms on a microscopic level. The typically small particle densities in the gas phase mean that reactions occur in well defined elementary steps, usually not involving more than three particles. 

At the limit of extremely low particle densities, for example under the conditions prevalent in interstellar space, ion-molecule reactions become important (see chapter A3.51. At very high pressures gas-phase kinetics approach the limit of condensed phase kinetics where elementary reactions are less clearly defined due to the large number of particles involved (see chapter A3.6). 

In this chapter, we resfiict the discussion to elementary chemical reactions, which we define as reactions having a single energy bamer in both dhections. As discussed in Section I, the wave function R) of any system undergoing an elementary reaction from a reactant A to a product B on the ground-state surface, is written as a linear combination of the wave functions of the reactant, A), and the product, B) [47,54] ... 

These statements refer to an elementary reaction, which from this point of view may be defined as a reaction possessing a single transition state. A complex reaction is then a set of elementary reactions, the potential energy surface of the whole being continuous. Thus, for two consecutive reactions the product of the first reaction is the reactant of the second. Each reaction has its own transition state. 

From this expression, it is obvious that the rate is proportional to the concentration of A, and k is the proportionality constant, or rate constant, k has the units of (time) usually sec is a function of [A] to the first power, or, in the terminology of kinetics, v is first-order with respect to A. For an elementary reaction, the order for any reactant is given by its exponent in the rate equation. The number of molecules that must simultaneously interact is defined as the molecularity of the reaction. Thus, the simple elementary reaction of A P is a first-order reaction. Figure 14.4 portrays the course of a first-order reaction as a function of time. The rate of decay of a radioactive isotope, like or is a first-order reaction, as is an intramolecular rearrangement, such as A P. Both are unimolecular reactions (the molecularity equals 1). 

The IUPAC has provided a convention used by many authors, but not all. It specifies that the elementary reaction written in Eq. (1 -9) has associated with it the defining rate law in Eq. (1-10). This removes any ambiguity. 

According to the definition given, this is a second-order reaction. Clearly, however, it is not bimolecular, illustrating that there is distinction between the order of a reaction and its molecularity. The former refers to exponents in the rate equation the latter, to the number of solute species in an elementary reaction. The order of a reaction is determined by kinetic experiments, which will be detailed in the chapters that follow. The term molecularity refers to a chemical reaction step, and it does not follow simply and unambiguously from the reaction order. In fact, the methods by which the mechanism (one feature of which is the molecularity of the participating reaction steps) is determined will be presented in Chapter 6 these steps are not always either simple or unambiguous. It is not very useful to try to define a molecularity for reaction (1-13), although the molecularity of the several individual steps of which it is comprised can be defined. 

One approach defines a control factor for each step.10 If one elementary reaction has a control factor that is much higher than others, that reaction is said to be ratecontrolling. Let us return to the scheme considered at great length in the preceding section,... 

Reaction scheme, defined, 9 Reactions back, 26 branching, 189 chain, 181-182, 187-189 competition, 105. 106 concurrent, 58-64 consecutive, 70, 130 diffusion-controlled, 199-202 elementary, 2, 4, 5, 12, 55 exchange, kinetics of, 55-58, 176 induced, 102 opposing, 49-55 oscillating, 190-192 parallel, 58-64, 129 product-catalyzed, 36-37 reversible, 46-55 termination, 182 trapping, 2, 102, 126 Reactivity, 112 Reactivity pattern, 106 Reactivity-selectivity principle, 238 Relaxation kinetics, 52, 257 -260 Relaxation time, 257 Reorganization energy, 241 Reversible reactions, 46-55 concentration-jump technique for, 52-55... 

To rationally govern the selectivity of a catalytic process, the elementary reaction steps on real catalyst surfaces must be identified. The use of well-defined organometallic compounds (possible intermediates in surface reactions) can be very useful in the determination of these steps. The use of kinetic modelling techniques combined with statistical analysis of kinetic... 

In each of the following cases, state whether the reaction written could be an elementary reaction, as defined in Section 6.1.2 explain briefly. 

Consider the following mechanism for step-change polymerization of monomer M (Px) to P2, P3,..., Pr,. The mechanism corresponds to a complex series-parallel scheme series with respect to the growing polymer, and parallel with respect to M. Each step is a second-order elementary reaction, and the rate constant k (defined for each step)1 is the same for all steps. 

In this section, we first introduce the standard form of the chemical source term for both elementary and non-elementary reactions. We then show how to transform the composition vector into reacting and conserved vectors based on the form of the reaction coefficient matrix. We conclude by looking at how the chemical source term is affected by Reynolds averaging, and define the chemical time scales based on the Jacobian of the chemical source term. 

The results presented above were discussed in terms of the special case of elementary reactions. However, if we relax the condition that the coefficients vfai and uTai must be integers, (5.1) is applicable to nearly all chemical reactions occurring in practical applications. In this general case, the element conservation constraints are no longer applicable. Nevertheless, all of the results presented thus far can be expressed in terms of the reaction coefficient matrix T, defined as before by... 

For chemically reacting flows defined in terms of elementary reactions, at least E of the eigenvalues appearing in (5.50) will be null. This fact is easily shown starting with (5.18) wherefrom the following relations can be derived ... 

Some reactions of the type H+hydride - hydride radical+H2 have been studied, mainly at lower temperatures, with H atoms generated by an external source. There might be appreciable errors in extrapolation of these rate coefficients to temperatures where thermal decomposition takes place. In many cases only a lower or upper limit of the rate of consecutive reactions can be given, especially if the decomposition takes place at temperatures appreciably above 1000 °K. We will not discuss reaction mechanisms in detail which lead to untested rate phenomena nor those which are based upon product analysis without a well-defined time history. It is true, however, that no decomposition of a hydride consisting of more than two atoms has a mechanism which is fully understood and which can be completely described in terms of the kinetics of the elementary reactions. 

The main equations used to extract thermochemical data from rate constants of reactions in solution were presented in section 3.2. Here, we illustrate the application of those equations with several examples quoted from the literature. First, however, recall that the rate constant for any elementary reaction in solution, defined in terms of concentrations, is related to the activation parameters through equations 15.1 or 15.2. 

Another term used to describe rate processes is molecu-larity, which can be defined as an integer indicating the molecular stoichiometry of an elementary reaction, which is a one-step reaction. Collision theory treats mo-lecularity in terms of the number of molecules (or atoms, if one or more of the reacting entities are single atoms) involved in a simple collisional process that ultimately leads to product formation. Transition-state theory considers molecularity as the number of molecules (or entities) that are used to form the activated complex. For reactions in solution, solvent molecules are counted in the molecularity, only if they enter into the overall process and not when they merely exert an environmental or solvent effect. 

Using these methods, the elementary reaction steps that define a fuel s overall combustion can be compiled, generating an overall combustion mechanism. Combustion simulation software, like CHEMKIN, takes as input a fuel s combustion mechanism and other system parameters, along with a reactor model, and simulates a complex combustion environment (Fig. 4). For instance, one of CHEMKIN s applications can simulate the behavior of a flame in a given fuel, providing a wealth of information about flame speed, key intermediates, and dominant reactions. Computational fluid dynamics can be combined with detailed chemical kinetic models to also be able to simulate turbulent flames and macroscopic combustion environments. 

Notably, the Gas Research Institute s mechanism (GRI-MECH) for methane combustion is well-established, drawing on research from several groups over several decades to define and calibrate kinetic and thermodynamic data for each elementary reaction step. Additional mechanisms" for methane oxidation are also available and updated periodically to include the most recent data. 

This set of relations between reaction orders and stoichiometric coefficients defines what we call an elementary reaction, one whose kinetics are consistent with stoichiometry. We later wiU consider another restriction on an elementary reaction that is frequently used by chemists, namely, that the reaction as written also describes the mechanism by which the process occurs. We will describe complex reactions as a sequence of elementary steps by which we will mean that the molecular collisions among reactant molecules cause chemical transformations to occur in a single step at the molecular level. 

Elementary reactions are defined as those that cannot be broken down into two or more simpler reactions. Generally, they consist of one or two reactant species and are referred to as unimolecular and bi-molecular processes, respectively. However, there are a... 

The elementary reactions in Eqs. (1) are not necessarily linearly independent, and, accordingly, let Q denote the maximum number of them in a linearly independent subset. This means that the set of all linear combinations of them defines a 0-dimensional vector space, called the reaction space. In matrix language 0 is the rank of the S x A matrix (2) of stoichiometric coefficients which appear in the elementary reactions (1) ... 

Moreover, the PES helps to define the scope of each elementary reaction. Thus, for instance, a bimolecular condensation that involves the formation of two new bonds between the reacting species may either proceed in a concerted fashion, with only a single predicted TS structure, or it may proceed as a stepwise process with two TS structures the stepwise process is really two elementary reactions - first a condensation and then a unimolecular rearrangement. 

In the preceding chapters, the theory of elementary reactions was discussed. The chemical processes occurring in chemically reacting flows usually proceed by a series of elementary reactions, rather than by a single step. The collection of elementary reactions defining the chemical process is called the mechanism of the reaction. When rate constants are assigned to each of the elementary steps, a chemical kinetic model for the process has been developed. 

A reaction mechanism is the sequence of elementary reactions, or elementary steps, that defines the pathway from reactants to products. Elementary reactions are classified as unimolecular, bimolecular, or termolecular, depending on whether one, two, or three reactant molecules are... 

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