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What is collision theory?

Collision theory states that for a reaction to occur:

particles must collide particles must have sufficient energy particles must collide with the correct orientation.

Most collisions do not result in reaction because they do not meet the second and third criteria.
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Activation energy

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Effect of surface area on collisions

Only the particles on the surface of a solid will collide with particles of the other reactant. If the surface area is increased, more particles will be on the surface and able to collide with particles of the other reactant. This means that there will be more collisions in total and therefore more reactive collisions.

Surface area can be increased increasing by decreasing the size of the surface reactant particles. Powders area have a very large surface area.
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Reaction of marble chips with acid

The effect of changing surface area on the rate of reaction can be explored by reacting marble (calcium carbonate) chips and an acid such as 2 mol dm-3 hydrochloric acid. CaCO3(s) + 2HCl(aq) CaCl2(s) + CO2(g) + H2O(l) The carbon dioxide gas evolved can be collected and its volume measured over time. The rate at which it is produced is a measure of the rate of reaction. By repeating the experiment with marble chips of different sizes, the effect of surface area on the rate of reaction can be examined.
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Effect of surface area on rate: graph

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Effect of concentration on rate

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Effect of concentration on rate: graph

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Effect of gas pressure on rate

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Effect of pressure on rate: graph

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Effect of temperature on particles

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Effect of temperature on rate

Increasing the temperature of the reaction mixture increases the rate of reaction in the following two ways: 1. At higher temperatures, the particles are moving faster, so collide more frequently. A higher number of collisions in total means a higher number of successful collisions. 2. At higher temperatures, a higher proportion of the molecules have the activation energy or more. This means that a higher proportion of collisions is successful.
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Effect of temperature on rate: graph

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Collision theory summary

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Rate of reaction summary

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Distribution of particle speeds

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Energy distribution curves

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The effect of changing temperature

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Small temperature changes

The MaxwellBoltzmann distribution shows that for a small increase in temperature, there is a relatively large increase in the number of particles with at least the activation energy. no. of particles no. particles with Ea almost doubled

A small increase in temperature therefore leads to a large increase in rate.

Ea energy The increase in collision frequency is also a factor, but its effect is small compared to the increase in energy.

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Effect of temperature summary

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Effect of catalysts on rate: graph

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What do catalysts do?

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How do catalysts work?

Catalysts increase the rate of reactions without being used up during the reaction. One way in which this occurs is for the catalyst to be changed during the reaction, then changed back in a second reaction with one of the reactants or products. This is an alternative reaction pathway. An example is the oxidation of sulfur dioxide: SO2(g) + O2(g) SO3(g)

This is catalyzed by vanadium(V) oxide:

SO2(g) + V2O5(s) SO3(g) + V2O4(s)

V2O4(s) + O2(g) V2O5(s)
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The catalyst is re-formed by reacting with oxygen:

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Catalysts and energy distribution curves

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Heterogeneous catalysts
There are two types of catalysts: heterogeneous and homogeneous. Heterogeneous catalysts are in a different phase to the reactants. The catalyst is usually a solid and the reactants are liquids or gases (e.g. solid catalysts for gas reactions in catalytic converters). Industrial examples of heterogeneous catalysis include the iron catalyst used in ammonia production and the ZieglerNatta catalyst used in poly(e)thene production.
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Homogeneous catalysts
Homogeneous catalysts are in the same phase as the reactants. The catalyst and the reactants are usually liquids, such as the hardener added to fibreglass resin. Another example of homogeneous catalysis is the destruction of atmospheric ozone catalyzed by chlorine free radicals. In this reaction the catalyst and reactants are in the gas phase.
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Advantages of catalysts
Using a catalyst means that a reaction can take place at the same rate as the uncatalyzed reaction, but at a lower temperature and/or pressure. This has the following advantages, which are particularly important in industry:

lower energy demands

therefore less CO2 produced

therefore less environmental impact

and lower production costs.

A non-industrial example is enzyme catalysis in biological washing powders, allowing efficient washing at a lower temperature.
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Catalysts: true or false?

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Glossary

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Whats the keyword?

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Multiple-choice quiz

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