scholarly journals Transition-State Model for Entropy-Limited Freezing

1986 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Y. Tsao ◽  
M. J. Aziz ◽  
P. S. Peercy ◽  
M. O. Thompson

AbstractA brief review is given of transition-state theory, both for the case of unimolecular reactions in the gas phase, and for reactions in condensed phases. An argument is made that, within the context of this theory, heterogeneous freezing in Si is limited to rates much lower than collision rates by the difference between the entropies of the solid and the liquid.

Author(s):  
Niels Engholm Henriksen ◽  
Flemming Yssing Hansen

This chapter reviews the microscopic interpretation of the pre-exponential factor and the activation energy in rate constant expressions of the Arrhenius form. The pre-exponential factor of apparent unimolecular reactions is, roughly, expected to be of the order of a vibrational frequency, whereas the pre-exponential factor of bimolecular reactions, roughly, is related to the number of collisions per unit time and per unit volume. The activation energy of an elementary reaction can be interpreted as the average energy of the molecules that react minus the average energy of the reactants. Specializing to conventional transition-state theory, the activation energy is related to the classical barrier height of the potential energy surface plus the difference in zero-point energies and average internal energies between the activated complex and the reactants. When quantum tunnelling is included in transition-state theory, the activation energy is reduced, compared to the interpretation given in conventional transition-state theory.


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