Activated complex

Article summary

diagram showing the activated complex in the region with highest potential energy. In chemistry, an activated complex represents a collection of intermediate structures in a chemical reaction when bonds are breaking and forming. The activated complex is an arrangement of atoms in an arbitrary region near the saddle point of a potential energy surface. The region represents not one defined state, but a range of unstable configurations that a collection of atoms pass through between the reactants and products of a reaction. Activated complexes have partial reactant and product character, which can significantly impact their behaviour in chemical reactions. The terms activated complex and transition state are often used interchangeably, but they represent different concepts. Transition states only represent the highest potential energy configuration of the atoms during the reaction, while activated complex refers to a range of configurations near the transition state. In a reaction coordinate, the transition state is the configuration at the maximum of the diagram while the activated complex can refer to any point near the maximum. Transition state theory (also known as activated complex theory) studies the kinetics of reactions that pass through a defined intermediate state with standard Gibbs energy of activation .…

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