Questions tagged [transition-state-theory]
Questions related to explanations of the reaction rates of elementary chemical reactions. The theory assumes a special type of chemical equilibrium (quasi-equilibrium) between reactants and activated transition state complexes.
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Transition State search
I've been trying to find a transition state for the reaction of Pd + F2 with no luck. Has anyone ever tried a similar reaction, have they managed to get the TS? The reaction proceeds from the ...
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Where does the RT term come from in the derivation for the activation enthalpy from the Eyring equation?
It is easy to show an Arrhenius-like equation from the Eyring equation, but if you do this, you get that the activation energy is about equal to the activation enthalpy. However, the real ...
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Transition state optimisation on the surface of periclase
I want to model a reaction catalysed by periclase ($\ce{MgO}$) using DFT.
I have a good guess on the transition state (TS) of the reaction that goes in gas phase/solvent (produced using MOPAC).
The ...
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When are transition state's energy barrier "reasonable" at a certain temperature?
Every computational chemist who does a little bit of mechanistic studies has asked himself this question. When you obtain your first transition state and look at the activation barrier needed to ...
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Stabilizing donor-acceptor interaction between orthogonal orbitals in the SN2 transition state?
For the $\mathrm{S_N2}$ reaction between chloroacetone and iodide, my professor has drawn a donor-acceptor interaction between the iodine lone pair attacking the Cl-substituted carbon and the π ...
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Investigating the effect of solvents (protic vs aprotic) on the alkaline hydrolysis of ethyl acetate using a conductivity meter
What different areas about solvents can be explored with the conductivities collected of the alkaline hydrolysis of ethyl acetate in propanone and ethanol?
$$\ce{CH3COOC2H5 + NaOH -> CH3COONa + ...
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Is Gibbs Free Energy of formation equal to Gibbs Free Energy of transition state?
Is activation energy equivalent to Gibbs Free Energy of transition state as related by Eyring equation?
$$E_a=\Delta ^\ddagger G \, \, ?$$
Is Gibbs Free Energy of transition state defined by the ...
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Units of rate constant (cycles per second vs radians per second) in Eyring equation
In the Eyring equation (EE),
$$k = \frac{k_\mathrm B T}{h} \exp\left(\frac{-\Delta G_{\mathrm f}}{RT}\right),$$
the units of $k$ are $\mathrm{s^{-1}}$. However, in general rate constants are usually ...
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Calculating pre-exponential factor using transition state theory
I would like to calculate the pre-exponential factor of a surface reaction using transition state theory. I've seen two ways to calculate it but I get different answers for each method (and I don't ...
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Solids to liquids process
Melting point is the critical point at which a solid starts to be transformed into a liquid? Does this mean that the geometric lattice of a solid is broken?
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Why does transition state loses its ability to vibrate? (Transition State Theory)
In transition state theory, (according to my textbook) it is assumed that the the transition state loses its structure, and the ability to vibrate and rotate. If the transition state cannot vibrate, ...
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Calculation of rate constant for bimolecular reaction from Gaussian DFT calculations
I am working with a bimolecular reaction for which I have computed the energy profile. I have output files for TS and reactants which I intend to use for rate constant calculations. From TST we have:
...
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Intuition of following the lowest curvature mode to find a saddle point on a PES
In this paper A dimer method for finding saddle points on high dimensional potential surfaces using only first derivatives, it is mentioned that
The saddle point is a maximum along the lowest ...
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What is the intuition of using "dimer method" for searching transition states?
I learned dimer method for searching transition state in this paper:
A dimer method for finding saddle points on high dimensional potential surfaces using only first derivatives.
However, I still ...
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In Statistical Transition State Theory, why is the concentration of the transition state for the forward and reverse reaction identical?
For example on Wikipedia, and also in my lecture notes, it is assumed that for a reaction
$$\ce{A + B<=> AB^{\ddagger} <=> P}$$
at equilibrium,
$$[\ce{AB^{\ddagger}_f}] = [\ce{AB^{\...
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