Effects of ionic strength on the rates of reaction between ions in solution

Abstract

The Brønsted-Bjerrum equation has been derived by a formulation which does not assume a thermodynamic equilibrium of reactants with a transition state or use activity coefficients. Around an ion, Boltzmann distributions of all species are assumed so that the result, like that of the TST method, can be valid only for slow reactions. In its simplest form there is a lack of symmetry in the equations which does not arise if approached by the diffusion model, with rate constant assumed much smaller than encounter number. These equations also demonstrate a weakness in previous work on rates of diffusion-controlled reactions of ions.