In chemical kinetics, the Lindemann mechanism, sometimes called the Lindemann-Hinshelwood mechanism, is a schematic reaction mechanism. Frederick Lindemann discovered the concept in 1921 and Cyril Hinshelwood developed it.
It breaks down a stepwise reaction into two or more elementary steps, then it gives a rate constant for each elementary step. The rate law and rate equation for the entire reaction can be derived from this information.
Lindemann mechanisms have been used to model gas phase decomposition reactions. Although the net formula for a decomposition may appear to be first-order (unimolecular) in the reactant, a Lindemann mechanism may show that the reaction is actually second-order (bimolecular).
Read more about Lindemann Mechanism: Activated Reaction Intermediates, The Steady-state Approximation
Famous quotes containing the word mechanism:
“When one of us dies of cancer, loses her mind, or commits suicide, we must not blame her for her inability to survive an ongoing political mechanism bent on the destruction of that human being. Sanity remains defined simply by the ability to cope with insane conditions.”
—Ana Castillo (b. 1953)