Chemical kinetics studies how chemical reactions change under different conditions. It is used to create efficient, non-poisonous reactions for industries. The state and concentration of the substance, temperature, pressure, and catalysts affect the reaction rate.
Chemical kinetics is the study of chemical reactions and how they change under varying conditions. The primary determination of the effects of a chemical reaction is mostly outside the actual composition of the substance. Chemical kinetics studies these conditions to determine how and why a reaction occurs. The primary applied use for science is the creation of efficient, non-destructive, non-poisoning reactions for use in the manufacturing, materials processing, and pharmaceutical industries. Even so, most of this field is pure science and research.
The basic methods and responses during a chemical reaction are determined by the chemical itself. Regardless of the conditions present, some materials do not react with other chemicals or environmental factors. This forms the baseline used by chemical kinetics. Once you understand a reaction in a controlled environment, changes to the reaction can be directly attributed to changes in the conditions of the experiment.
In addition to what the initial substance actually is, the state and concentration of the substance will play a major factor in chemical kinetics. These two factors are directly related to the condition of the starting material, rather than the environment. The state of the material refers to whether it is a solid, liquid or gas. Concentration is the amount of reactant relative to another substance or volume. This can be expressed as “parts per 1,000 of X chemical” or as a percentage of space used in the experimental area.
The concentration of the material is of great importance to chemical kinetics for two reasons. First, the larger the amount of reactants, the faster the reaction will be. This was one of the first major discoveries in this field and is often considered the birthplace of the discipline. The second major effect involves chemical interaction. If the concentration of two reactants is very low within a third non-reactive substance, then it will take a significant amount of time for the two reactants to actually meet.
In addition to the physical properties of the material, the environment is also an important part of the chemical kinetics. Environmental factors generally depend on temperature and pressure. As the temperature increases, the reactants absorb heat energy and move faster. This allows them to interact with each other more frequently, which speeds up the reaction. Likewise, higher pressure causes more of the action to occur in a smaller space, making the reactants more likely to encounter each other.
The last important part of chemical kinetics is the use of catalysts. These “third party” chemicals change the way the reaction occurs without changing the final result of the reaction. A catalyst will interact with one or more reactants and change the way they behave. This typically means they increase in energy, move faster, interact more, and increase overall reaction rate. To be a catalyst and not a reactant, the catalyzing material must remain unaffected during the reaction.
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