Surface Area of Reactants

Reaction rate: Chemical reaction at a pace is referred to as the reaction rate. It’s most commonly represented as the concentration (amount per unit volume) of a product formed in a unit of time or the concentration (amount per unit volume) of a reactant consumed in a unit of time. It is also measured as to how many reactants or products are consumed in a certain amount of time.

There are five factors that can affect the rate of reaction : the amount of reactants present, temperature, the state of the reactants in terms of their physical properties, a catalyst’s presence and light.

Surface Area of Reactants

Surface Area: The area of the chemical components utilised in a chemical reaction is known as surface area. Powdered forms of substances are favoured in chemical reactions because they increase the reactivity of the chemicals, speeding up the reaction.

Surface Area of Reactants: 

The surface area of a solid reactant can be increased which leads to increase the rate of a chemical reaction. Cutting the substance into small pieces or grinding it into a powder accomplishes this. That is, the larger the pieces, the smaller the surface area and the smaller the pieces, the larger the surface area.

If a reactant’s surface area is increased:

• More particles are exposed to the other reactant. 
• The likelihood of particles colliding increases.
• It can lead to successful collisions per second. 
• There will be an increase in reaction rate.

When compared to a reaction with lumps of reactant, the following equations apply for the identical reaction with powdered reactant:

• has a greater gradient at first, but 
• quickly becomes horizontal

This demonstrates that when the surface area of the reaction increases, the rate of reaction increases as well.

If all of the reactant parameters, such as solid mass and acid volume, are the same, the reactions will generate the same volume. If one of the components is cut in half, the volume generated is cut in half. When the factor is doubled, the reaction produces twice as much volume.

This holds true for any factor that can influence the rate.

Explosion: An explosion is a rapid chemical reaction that produces a significant amount of gaseous products. In factories that handle powdered, combustible material, there is a risk of explosion. Custard powder, flour, and powdered sulphur are among these things.

Nature of Reactants:

Chemical changes occur at different speeds in different substances. The various structures of the materials involved, such as whether the chemicals are in solution or solid-state, may account for the variances in reactivity between processes. Another factor to consider is the binding strengths between the reactant molecules. A reaction between molecules whose atoms are bonded by covalent bonds, for example, will proceed more slowly than that between molecules whose atoms are bonded by not so strong covalent bonds. This is because breaking the bonds of molecules that are tightly bound requires much energy.

Factors affecting reaction rate:

1. Reactant concentration: The rate of reaction is frequently increased by increasing the concentration of one or more reactants. This occurs because a higher concentration of a reactant results in more reactant collisions in the same amount of time.
2. The state of the reactants in terms of their physical properties and surface area: When molecules exist in distinct phases, as in a heterogeneous mixture, the rate of reaction will be limited by the surface area of the phases in contact. Only the molecules on the metal’s surface can collide with the gas molecules when a solid metal reactant and a gas reactant are mixed, for example. As a result, increasing the surface area of the metal by hammering it flat or breaking it into several pieces accelerates its reaction rate.
3. Temperature: As the temperature rises, the rate of reaction normally accelerates. When the temperature rises, the average kinetic energy will increase. As a result, a greater proportion of molecules will possess the minimum energy required for a successful collision.
4. A catalyst’s presence: A catalyst is a chemical that participates in a reaction without being consumed, therefore speeding it up. Catalysts provide a new way to extract products from a reaction. They are involved in a wide range of biological processes.

Light: Photochemical reactions are reactions that are triggered by light. The faster the reaction, the brighter the light.

Conclusion: 

When solids and liquids react, increasing the solid’s surface area speeds up the reaction. The overall surface area of a material increases as particle size decreases.

The reaction rate can be doubled or tripled by increasing the reaction temperature by 10 degrees Celsius. This is because the number of particles with the least amount of energy has increased. The reaction rate slows as the temperature drops.

Without being consumed in the reaction, catalysts can lower the activation energy and raise the reaction rate.

Differences in the underlying structures of reactants might create variations in reaction speeds. Due to the larger amount of energy, molecules connected by stronger bonds will have slower reaction rates than molecules joined by weaker bonds.