Structural considerations in the calculation of reaction rates

We address the question that every chemist asks given thermal reactants, how do you compute the rate of crossing the barrier toward the products We seek to cast the answer using traditional tools and, specifically, the structure of the system at the barrier. Using just one, physically realistic, approximation, transition state theory enables us to do that. The theory identifies a bottleneck for the reaction and computes the rate of passage through it. 

We divide the chapter into three sections. First, transition state theory (TST) proper, where we compute the rate of barrier crossing for reactants in equihbiium. Next, computing the reaction rate when more than one barrier is present, and finally, state-resolved reactivities. As much as possible, we emphasize the close fink between structure and dynamics. 

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