Electron transfer (ET) occurs when an electron moves from an atom or a chemical species (e.g. a molecule) to another atom or chemical species. ET is a mechanistic description of the thermodynamic concept of redox, wherein the oxidation states of both reaction partners change.
Numerous biological processes involve ET reactions. These processes include oxygen binding, photosynthesis, respiration, and detoxification. Additionally, the process of energy transfer can be formalized as a two-electron exchange (two concurrent ET events in opposite directions) in case of small distances between the transferring molecules. ET reactions commonly involve transition metal complexes, but there are now many examples of ET in organic chemistry.
Read more about Electron Transfer: Classes of Electron Transfer, Theory
Famous quotes containing the word transfer:
“I have proceeded ... to prevent the lapse from ... the point of blending between wakefulness and sleep.... Not ... that I can render the point more than a point—but that I can startle myself ... into wakefulness—and thus transfer the point ... into the realm of Memory—convey its impressions,... to a situation where ... I can survey them with the eye of analysis.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)