Chemical Reactions

A
chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemical transformation of one set of chemical
substances to another.[1] Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the
positions of electrons in the forming and breaking of chemical bonds between atoms, with no change
to the nuclei (no change to the elements present), and can often be described by a chemical
equation. Nuclear chemistry is a sub-discipline of chemistry that involves the chemical reactions
of unstable and radioactive elements where both electronic and nuclear changes can occur.
The substance (or substances) initially involved in a chemical reaction are called reactants or
reagents. Chemical reactions are usually characterized by a chemical change, and they yield one or
more products, which usually have properties different from the reactants. Reactions often consist of
a sequence of individual sub-steps, the so-called elementary reactions, and the information on the
precise course of action is part of the reaction mechanism. Chemical reactions are described
with chemical equations, which symbolically present the starting materials, end products, and
sometimes intermediate products and reaction conditions.
Chemical reactions happen at a characteristic reaction rate at a given temperature and chemical
concentration. Typically, reaction rates increase with increasing temperature because there is
more thermal energy available to reach the activation energy necessary for breaking bonds between
atoms.
Reactions may proceed in the forward or reverse direction until they go to completion or
reach equilibrium. Reactions that proceed in the forward direction to approach equilibrium are often
described as spontaneous, requiring no input of free energy to go forward. Non-spontaneous
reactions require input of free energy to go forward (examples include charging a battery by applying
an external electrical power source, or photosynthesis driven by absorption of electromagnetic
radiation in the form of sunlight).
A reaction may be classified as redox in which oxidation and reduction occur or nonredox in which
there is no oxidation and reduction occurring. Most simple redox reactions may be classified as
combination, decomposition, or single displacement reactions.
Different chemical reactions are used during chemical synthesis in order to obtain a desired product.
In biochemistry, a consecutive series of chemical reactions (where the product of one reaction is the
reactant of the next reaction) form metabolic pathways. These reactions are often catalyzed by
protein enzymes. Enzymes increase the rates of biochemical reactions, so that metabolic syntheses
and decompositions impossible under ordinary conditions can occur at the temperatures and
concentrations present within a cell.
The general concept of a chemical reaction has been extended to reactions between entities smaller
than atoms, including nuclear reactions, radioactive decays, and reactions between elementary
particles, as described by quantum field theory.
Contents
 1History
 2Characteristics
 3Equations
 4Elementary reactions
 5Chemical equilibrium
 6Thermodynamics
 7Kinetics
 8Reaction types
o 8.1Four basic types
 8.1.1Synthesis
 8.1.2Decomposition
 8.1.3Single replacement
 8.1.4Double replacement
o 8.2Combustion
o 8.3Oxidation and reduction
o 8.4Complexation
o 8.5Acid–base reactions
o 8.6Precipitation
o 8.7Solid-state reactions
o 8.8Reactions at the solid|gas interface
o 8.9Photochemical reactions
 9Catalysis
 10Reactions in organic chemistry
o 10.1Substitution
o 10.2Addition and elimination
o 10.3Other organic reaction mechanisms
 11Biochemical reactions
 12Applications
 13Monitoring
 14See also
 15References
 16Bibliography
History
Antoine Lavoisier developed the theory of combustion as a chemical reaction with oxygen.
Chemical reactions such as combustion in fire, fermentation and the reduction of ores to metals

were known since antiquity. Initial theories of transformation of materials were developed by Greek
philosophers, such as the Four-Element Theory of Empedocles stating that any substance is
composed of the four basic elements – fire, water, air and earth. In the Middle Ages, chemical
transformations were studied by alchemists. They attempted, in particular, to convert lead into gold,
for which purpose they used reactions of lead and lead-copper alloys with sulfur.[2]
The artificial production of chemical substances already was a central goal for medieval alchemists.
[3]
Examples include the synthesis of ammonium chloride from organic substances as described in
the works (c. 850–950) attributed to Jābir ibn Ḥayyān,[4] or the production of mineral acids such
as sulfuric and nitric acids by later alchemists, starting from c. 1300.[5] The production of mineral
acids involved the heating of sulfate and nitrate minerals such as copper sulfate, alum and saltpeter.
In the 17th century, Johann Rudolph Glauber produced hydrochloric acid and sodium sulfate by
reacting sulfuric acid and sodium chloride. With the development of the lead chamber process in
1746 and the Leblanc process, allowing large-scale production of sulfuric acid and sodium
carbonate, respectively, chemical reactions became implemented into the industry. Further
optimization of sulfuric acid technology resulted in the contact process in the 1880s,[6] and the Haber
process was developed in 1909–1910 for ammonia synthesis.[7]
From the 16th century, researchers including Jan Baptist van Helmont, Robert Boyle, and Isaac
Newton tried to establish theories of the experimentally observed chemical transformations.
The phlogiston theory was proposed in 1667 by Johann Joachim Becher. It postulated the existence
of a fire-like element called "phlogiston", which was contained within combustible bodies and
released during combustion. This proved to be false in 1785 by Antoine Lavoisier who found the
correct explanation of the combustion as reaction with oxygen from the air.[8]
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac recognized in 1808 that gases always react in a certain relationship with
each other. Based on this idea and the atomic theory of John Dalton, Joseph Proust had developed
the law of definite proportions, which later resulted in the concepts of stoichiometry and chemical
equations.[9]
Regarding the organic chemistry, it was long believed that compounds obtained from living
organisms were too complex to be obtained synthetically. According to the concept of vitalism,
organic matter was endowed with a "vital force" and distinguished from inorganic materials. This
separation was ended however by the synthesis of urea from inorganic precursors by Friedrich
Wöhler in 1828. Other chemists who brought major contributions to organic chemistry
include Alexander William Williamson with his synthesis of ethers and Christopher Kelk Ingold, who,
among many discoveries, established the mechanisms of substitution reactions.
Characteristics
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it. (November 2020)
The general characteristics of chemical reactions are:
 Evolution of a gas
 Formation of a precipitate
 Change in temperature
 Change in state
Equations
As seen from the equation CH
+ 2 O
4
→ CO
2
+ 2 H
2
O, a coefficient of 2 must be placed before the oxygen gas on the reactants side and before the water on the
2
products side in order for, as per the law of conservation of mass, the quantity of each element does not
change during the reaction
Main article: Chemical equation

Chemical equations are used to graphically illustrate chemical reactions. They consist
of chemical or structural formulas of the reactants on the left and those of the products on the right.
They are separated by an arrow (→) which indicates the direction and type of the reaction; the arrow
is read as the word "yields".[10] The tip of the arrow points in the direction in which the reaction
proceeds. A double arrow (⇌) pointing in opposite directions is used for equilibrium reactions.
Equations should be balanced according to the stoichiometry, the number of atoms of each species
should be the same on both sides of the equation. This is achieved by scaling the number of
involved molecules ( and in a schematic example below) by the appropriate integers a, b, c and d.[11]
More elaborate reactions are represented by reaction schemes, which in addition to starting
materials and products show important intermediates or transition states. Also, some relatively
minor additions to the reaction can be indicated above the reaction arrow; examples of such
additions are water, heat, illumination, a catalyst, etc. Similarly, some minor products can be
placed below the arrow, often with a minus sign.
An example of organic reaction: oxidation of ketones to esters with a peroxycarboxylic acid

Retrosynthetic analysis can be applied to design a complex synthesis reaction. Here the
analysis starts from the products, for example by splitting selected chemical bonds, to arrive at
plausible initial reagents. A special arrow (⇒) is used in retro reactions.[12]
Elementary reactions
The elementary reaction is the smallest division into which a chemical reaction can be
decomposed, it has no intermediate products.[13] Most experimentally observed reactions are
built up from many elementary reactions that occur in parallel or sequentially. The actual
sequence of the individual elementary reactions is known as reaction mechanism. An
elementary reaction involves a few molecules, usually one or two, because of the low probability
for several molecules to meet at a certain time.[14]
Isomerization of azobenzene, induced by light (hν) or heat (Δ)
The most important elementary reactions are unimolecular and bimolecular reactions. Only one
molecule is involved in a unimolecular reaction; it is transformed by an isomerization or
a dissociation into one or more other molecules. Such reactions require the addition of energy in
the form of heat or light. A typical example of a unimolecular reaction is the cis–
trans isomerization, in which the cis-form of a compound converts to the trans-form or vice
versa.[15]
In a typical dissociation reaction, a bond in a molecule splits (ruptures) resulting in two
molecular fragments. The splitting can be homolytic or heterolytic. In the first case, the bond is
divided so that each product retains an electron and becomes a neutral radical. In the second
case, both electrons of the chemical bond remain with one of the products, resulting in
charged ions. Dissociation plays an important role in triggering chain reactions, such
as hydrogen–oxygen or polymerization reactions.
Dissociation of a molecule AB into fragments A and B
For bimolecular reactions, two molecules collide and react with each other. Their merger
is called chemical synthesis or an addition reaction.
Another possibility is that only a portion of one molecule is transferred to the other
molecule. This type of reaction occurs, for example, in redox and acid–base
reactions. In redox reactions, the transferred particle is an electron, whereas in
acid–base reactions it is a proton. This type of reaction is also called metathesis.
for example
Chemical equilibrium
Main article: Chemical equilibrium
Most chemical reactions are reversible; that is, they can and do run in both
directions. The forward and reverse reactions are competing with each
other and differ in reaction rates. These rates depend on the concentration
and therefore change with time of the reaction: the reverse rate gradually
increases and becomes equal to the rate of the forward reaction,
establishing the so-called chemical equilibrium. The time to reach
equilibrium depends on parameters such as temperature, pressure, a

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Antoine Lavoisier developed the theory of combustion as a chemical reaction with oxygen.

Chemical reactions such as combustion in fire, fermentation and the reduction of ores to metals

The general characteristics of chemical reactions are:

Main article: Chemical equation

An example of organic reaction: oxidation of ketones to esters with a peroxycarboxylic acid

Isomerization of azobenzene, induced by light (hν) or heat (Δ)

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