Organic reaction mechanisms energy difference, equilibrium constant

In most equilibrium-based analytical methods, the success or failure of a determination is not affected by the reaction mechanism, provided that the reaction is either quantitative or the measured parameter at equilibrium is linearly proportional to the initial concentration of the species of interest. This is not the case in reaction-rate methods. Any development of a kinetic method should include, if possible, a complete study of the reaction mechanisms involved in the procedure. (Unfortunately, some reactions, such as catalytic reactions, are so complicated that complete elucidation of the mechanism is impossible.) It should also include a detailed study of the effects of typical sample-matrix components, which can act as catalysts, induce side-reactions, alter the activity of the reactants, and so on. The rates and rate constants for chemical reactions are very sensitive to low concentrations of such spectator species hence, samples containing the same true initial composition of the species of interest but coming from different sources can very often give quite different apparent concentrations. Unless the experimenter is aware of the total reaction mechanism and of all possible factors that can affect either the activation energy or the reaction path, erroneous analytical results can be obtained. A detailed investigation of the simultaneous, in situ, analysis of binary amine mixtures illustrates this point. (Most systems, by the way, are less error-prone than this one.) The rate constants for the reaction of many individual organic amines with methyl iodide in acetone solvent... 

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