Open AccessMarcus equation
Publication year - 1998
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/677005
Subject(s) - electron transfer , marcus theory , reaction rate constant , chemistry , reagent , bond dissociation energy , recombination , dissociation (chemistry) , electron , coordination sphere , ion , computational chemistry , transfer (computing) , thermodynamics , chemical physics , atomic physics , kinetics , physics , quantum mechanics , organic chemistry , computer science , biochemistry , gene , parallel computing
In the late 1950s to early 1960s Rudolph A. Marcus developed a theory for treating the rates of outer-sphere electron-transfer reactions. Outer-sphere reactions are reactions in which an electron is transferred from a donor to an acceptor without any chemical bonds being made or broken. (Electron-transfer reactions in which bonds are made or broken are referred to as inner-sphere reactions.) Marcus derived several very useful expressions, one of which has come to be known as the Marcus cross-relation or, more simply, as the Marcus equation. It is widely used for correlating and predicting electron-transfer rates. For his contributions to the understanding of electron-transfer reactions, Marcus received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This paper discusses the development and use of the Marcus equation. Topics include self-exchange reactions; net electron-transfer reactions; Marcus cross-relation; and proton, hydride, atom and group transfers