ABSTRACT

Chapter 3 introduces the concept of chemical kinetics. Elementary and global reactions are introduced, and the expression for the reaction rate of bimolecular elementary reactions is derived from molecular collision theory. Chapter 3 also discusses classification of elementary reactions on the basis of molecularity and its role in the reaction chain, and derives expressions for time scales of unimolecular, bimolecular and termolecular reactions and the rate of production of individual species in a reaction chain. The chapter also discusses steady state and partial equilibrium approximations.