The path that reactants follow to form the products in a chemical reaction is known as the mechanism of the reaction. It is the slowest step of a reaction mechanism that determines the overall rate …
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Bond energy is defined as the amount of energy required to break all bonds of a particular type in one mole of the given substance. It is expressed in units of kilojoules per mole (kJmol-1) …
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Mass spectrometry is one of the analytical techniques for characterizing matter, based on the determination of atomic or molecular masses of individual species present in a sample.  The sample under investigation is bombarded with a …
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Isomerism is the existence of multiple chemical compounds with the same chemical composition but different structures and properties. This phenomenon is not limited to organic compounds but finds itself in inorganic substances as well. Coordination …
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Coordination compounds are made of central metal atom/ion(s), surrounded by a specified number of ligands. The ligands can be atoms, ions, or molecules and are attached to the metal through a coordinate covalent bond. The …
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Coordination number, or ligancy, refers to the number of atoms, molecules, or ions (ligands) bonded to the central atom or ion through coordinate/dative covalent bond.  In Werner’s theory for coordination compounds, the coordination number is …
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Synthetic materials are derived materials from natural ones that achieve in minutes, which otherwise would take months to achieve. These materials are in fact natural materials with altered sequences, characteristics, uses, activation energies, etc. Many different …
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Accuracy and precision are the terms used in scientific measurements but they are generally confused with each other. The main difference between accuracy and precision is that; Accuracy is the extent to which the measurement …
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Aqua Regia, the ‘royal water’ was first prepared by a famous alchemist by the name of Abū Mūsā Jābir ibn Ḥayyān in the 8th century A.D. This traditional volatile solution is a mixture of nitric …
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London dispersion forces are weak intermolecular forces between non-polar molecules, commonly known as instantaneous dipoles-induced dipoles. These forces are named after the German physicist, Fritz London (1900-1954). Electrons are considered to be symmetrically distributed around …
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Electronegativity is defined as the relative tendency of an atom in a molecule to attract the bonded pair of electrons towards itself. For the electronegativity difference/polarity phenomenon to occur, the bonded atoms must be different.  …
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A crystal structure refers to the repeating arrangement of particles in a solid. It displays the arrangement of atoms in a three-dimensional structure. There are 4 basic types of crystal structures, which are further divided …
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A supercritical fluid (SCF) is a state of matter of a substance in which the temperature and pressure are above the critical point, resulting in properties between those of a gas and a liquid. When …
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Caustic soda is the common name for sodium hydroxide. It is one of the strongest known alkali (water-soluble base). The chemical formula of caustic soda is NaOH. It is a white solid comprising sodium cations …
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Talc is an alternative name for talcum, an industrial mineral of magnesium trisilicates with a chemical formula Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. It is pure in composition (oxygen, silicon, and magnesium). Sometimes, it is composed of other metals in …
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Salts are ionic compounds with a net charge of zero. They are produced when cations and anions form electrostatic forces of attraction. Salts are most commonly defined as products of neutralization reactions when cations from …
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Edman degradation is a chemical method developed by a biochemist, Pehr Edman in 1950. This process is used for labeling or purification of proteins by removing the N-terminal residue of peptides without damaging the whole …
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Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid, also known as muriatic acid. It is a colorless solution of hydrogen and chlorine with a pungent smell. It has the chemical formula of HCl. In this compound, hydrogen …
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A racemic mixture is a mixture of two different enantiomers, present in almost equal amounts. In a racemic mixture Dextro (D) and Levo (L) enantiomers are present in 1:1 amounts. A racemate cannot rotate plane-polarized …
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Bond length is defined as the distance between two nuclei of atoms in a covalent bond. It can also be defined as the internuclear distance when there is a maximum possible orbital overlap. This distance …
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Sulfuric acid is the king of chemicals due to its wide range of uses in several industries. It is a well-known mineral acid also known as the oil of vitriol. It comprises three major elements; oxygen, …
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Magnesium and manganese may be confused with each other because of their similar names and chemical symbols. But, there are many notable differences between these elements in several properties, be they general, atomic, thermodynamic, or …
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Micelle is a cluster of amphiphilic molecules dispersed in a liquid. They form a colloidal suspension when surfactants tend to dissociate in water. They are also known as the associate colloidal systems. The molecule of …
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When we heat a substance, it starts absorbing heat up to a certain limit, after which, its temperature starts rising. This limit of a substance to tolerate or absorb heat without raising the temperature is …
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Coordination compounds exhibit unique visible colors. The reason behind this is the crystal field splitting of d-orbitals of the central metal atom. The electrons present in the ground state absorb light in visible range and …
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Cloud seeding is a weather-modification method. It was discovered by Vincent J. Schaefer, an American chemist in 1946 after WWII. Its purpose is to induce rain and snowfall which may lead to reduced droughts. The …
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