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The Rate‐Determining Step is Dead. Long Live the Rate‐Determining State!
Author(s) -
Kozuch Sebastian,
Martin Jan M. L.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
chemphyschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1439-7641
pISSN - 1439-4235
DOI - 10.1002/cphc.201100137
Subject(s) - dilemma , simple (philosophy) , epistemology , meaning (existential) , state (computer science) , computer science , biochemical engineering , chemistry , mathematical economics , philosophy , mathematics , algorithm , engineering
The concept of a rate‐determining step (RD‐Step) is central to the kinetics community, and it is basic knowledge even for the undergraduate chemical student. In spite of this, too many different definitions of the RD‐Step appear in the literature, all of them with drawbacks. This dilemma has been thoroughly studied by several authors in the attempt to “patch” the drawbacks and bring the RD‐Step to a correct physical meaning. Herein we review with simple models the most notable definitions and some challengers of the RD‐Step concept, to conclude with the deduction that there are no rate‐determining steps, only rate‐determining states.