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Published 1999 | public
Book Section - Chapter

Electron Transfer Past and Future

Abstract

Electron transfers in the post-World War II era began in the small arcane field of isotopic self-exchange reactions, such as Fe^(3+) * + Fe^(2+) → Fe^(2+) * + Fe^(3+), in solution. There was an abundance of radioactive isotopes (denoted here by an asterisk), and chemists were using isotopic tracers after the war to determine the mechanisms of various chemical reactions. Their use in electron transfer was very fortunate, since it removed from consideration one of the dominant factors controlling chemical reaction rates, ΔG^0, the standard free energy of reaction or, as it is commonly called, the driving force of the reaction. This ΔG^0 vanishes for self-exchange reactions.

Additional Information

© 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. It is a pleasure for me to acknowledge the support of my electron transfer research during these many years by the National Science Foundation and by the Office of Naval Research.

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
January 13, 2024