Electric field reaction

Results of our analysis indicate that any Michaelis-Menten type of enzyme has the ability to become a free energy transducer under certain specified conditions (14). In the absence of an electric field, reaction 9 is a facilitated membrane transport system that is, the transporter, T, can carry the substrate S across the membrane from the compartment with higher concentration of S (out) to the compartment with lower concentration of S (in). However, when an ac field is turned on, T can pump S from in to out, up the concentration gradient. 

Figure 1 The relative fluorescence change AO/ at 920 nm as a function of the externally applied electric field. Reaction centers of Rb, sphaeroides (embedded in PVA) at 160K were excited at 870 nm.

Highly protective layers can also fonn in gaseous environments at ambient temperatures by a redox reaction similar to that in an aqueous electrolyte, i.e. by oxygen reduction combined with metal oxidation. The thickness of spontaneously fonned oxide films is typically in the range of 1-3 nm, i.e., of similar thickness to electrochemical passive films. Substantially thicker anodic films can be fonned on so-called valve metals (Ti, Ta, Zr,. ..), which allow the application of anodizing potentials (high electric fields) without dielectric breakdown. 

Modelling plasma chemical systems is a complex task, because these system are far from thennodynamical equilibrium. A complete model includes the external electric circuit, the various physical volume and surface reactions, the space charges and the internal electric fields, the electron kinetics, the homogeneous chemical reactions in the plasma volume as well as the heterogeneous reactions at the walls or electrodes. These reactions are initiated primarily by the electrons. In most cases, plasma chemical reactors work with a flowing gas so that the flow conditions, laminar or turbulent, must be taken into account. As discussed before, the electron gas is not in thennodynamic equilibrium... 

Other perturbations have been demonstrated. The pressure,, jump, similar to the T-jump in principle, is attractive for organic reactions where Joule heating may be impractical both because of the solvent being used and because concentrations might have to be measured by conductivity. Large (10 —10 kPa) pressures are needed to perturb equiUbrium constants. One approach involves pressurizing a Hquid solution until a membrane mptures and drops the pressure to ambient. Electric field perturbations affect some reactions and have also been used (2), but infrequentiy. 

Disadvantages associated with some organic solvents include toxicity flammabiHty and explosion ha2ards sensitivity to moisture uptake, possibly leading to subsequent undesirable reactions with solutes low electrical conductivity relatively high cost and limited solubiHty of many solutes. In addition, the electrolyte system can degrade under the influence of an electric field, yielding undesirable materials such as polymers, chars, and products that interfere with deposition of the metal or alloy. 

In plasma chromatography, molecular ions of the heavy organic material to be analy2ed are produced in an ionizer and pass by means of a shutter electrode into a drift region. The velocity of drift through an inert gas at approximately 101 kPa (1 atm) under the influence of an appHed electric field depends on the molecular weight of the sample. The various sonic species are separated and collected every few milliseconds on an electrode. The technique has been employed for studying upper atmosphere ion molecule reactions and for chemical analysis (100). 

The term electrochromism was apparently coined to describe absorption line shifts induced in dyes by strong electric fields (1). This definition of electrocbromism does not, however, fit within the modem sense of the word. Electrochromism is a reversible and visible change in transmittance and/or reflectance that is associated with an electrochemicaHy induced oxidation—reduction reaction. This optical change is effected by a small electric current at low d-c potential. The potential is usually on the order of 1 V, and the electrochromic material sometimes exhibits good open-circuit memory. Unlike the well-known electrolytic coloration in alkaU haUde crystals, the electrochromic optical density change is often appreciable at ordinary temperatures. 

The electric field-jump method is applicable to reactions of ions and dipoles. Application of a powerful electric field to a solution will favor the production of ions from a neutral species, and it will orient dipoles with the direction of the applied field. The method has been used to study metal ion complex formation, the binding of ions to macromolecules, and acid-base reactions. 

The simplest SCRF model is the Onsager reaction field model. In this method, the solute occupies a fixed spherical cavity of radius Oq within the solvent field. A dipole in the molecule will induce a dipole in the medium, and the electric field applied by the solvent dipole will in turn interact with the molecular dipole, leading to net stabilization. 

A more thorough analysis shows that one should not expect the electric dipole moment to remain constant, because real molecules have polarizability. The polarization of the dielectric in the electric field of the molecule itself gives rise to a reaction field, which tends to enhance the electrical asymmetry. 

Because the film growth rate depends so strongly on the electric field across it (equation 1.115), separation of the anodic and cathodic sites for metals in open circuit is of little consequence, provided film growth is the exclusive reaction. Thus if one site is anodic, and an adjacent site cathodic, film thickening on the anodic site itself causes the two sites to swap roles so that the film on the former cathodic site also thickens correspondingly. Thus the anodic and cathodic sites of the stably passive metal dance over the surface. If however, permanent separation of sites can occur, as for example, where the anodic site has restricted access to the cathodic component in the electrolyte (as in crevice), then breakdown of passivity and associated corrosion can follow. 

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