Factors affecting the Rates of Chemical Reactions

The factors affecting the rates of chemical reactions include temperature, concentration of reactants, the presence of catalysts, etc..


Fahrenheit Scale of Temperature

The Fahrenheit scale of temperature, named after G.D. Fahrenheit (1686-1736) who invented it, has the temperature of boiling water as 212 degrees and the temperature of melting ice as 32 degrees. The Fahrenheit scale is no longer in scientific use.

To convert from the Fahrenheit scale to the Celsius scale the formula is


		deg C  =   5 ( deg F - 32) / 9. 


Faraday's Constant

The Faraday Constant, F, is the electric charge carried by one mole of electrons or singly ionised ions (i.e. the product of Avogadro constant and the charge on an electron or ion, disregarding sign).

It has the value 9.648670 X 10^4 coulombs per mole.

This number of coulombs is sometimes treated as a unit of electric charge called the Faraday.


Faraday's Laws of Electrolysis

Faraday's Laws of Electrolysis govern the electrolysis of aqueous solutions and state

Faraday's First Laws of Electrolysis
The mass of a substance liberated at each electrode is directly proportional to the quantity of electricity which passes (i.e. to the current strength and to the time), and

Faraday's Second Laws of Electrolysis
The masses of the elements liberated by the same quantity of electricity are directly proportional to their chemical equivalents.


Fat

A fat is a triester of glycerol, and on hydrolysis with sodium hydroxide gives glycerol and Soap  (i.e. a mixture of the sodium salts of the fatty acids).


Fatty Acids

Fatty acids, RCOOH, are a homologous series of organic acids, where R is an alkyl radical. The higher members of this series of acids occur in nature in the combined form of esters of glycerol, and hence all of this family are called fatty acids.


Feedstock

The Feedstock for the manufacture of petroleum products and petrochemicals is crude oil extracted from known reserves.


Fermentation of Carbohydrates

The fermentation of carbohydrates is a form of anaerobic respiration occurring in certain microorganism (e.g. yeasts), comprises a series of biochemical reactions by which sugars (i.e. saccharides), including glucose and sucrose, are converted to ethanol and carbon dioxide.


Ferric Compound

Ferric compound are compounds of iron in its +3 oxidation state. Examples include iron (III) chloride, FeCl3, which was previously called ferric chloride.


Ferrous Compounds

Ferrous compounds are compounds of iron in its +2 oxidation state. Examples include iron (II) chloride, FeCl2, which was previously called ferrous chloride.


Ferrous Sulphate

Ferrous sulphate, Fe(II)SO4, is the salt formed when iron is dissolved in sulphuric acid.


Fertilisers

Fertilisers are the minerals which are added to soil to increase its productivity in crop production. The major components of inorganic fertilisers are
Nitrogen
in the form of ammonia, nitrate and urea,
Phosphorus
in the form of phosphate or superphosphate,
Potassium
in the form of one of its salts) and
Sulphur
in the form of sulphate salts.
Trace levels of other minerals are also often included in fertilisers, either as trace nutrients for crops or for uptake by animals grazing on the crops.


Filter

A filter is a device for separating solids from liquids or an insoluble substance from a soluble one.

The simplest laboratory filter for liquids is a fluted glass funnel in which a cone of special paper, known as filter paper, is placed. The liquid to be filtered is passed through the paper filter, whereupon the insoluble solids are retained on the filter.

Grouch crucibles, which are special containers with a porous base of sintered glass, are also used as filters.


Filter Pump

A filter pump is a simple laboratory vacuum pump in which air is removed from a system by a jet of water forced through a narrow nozzle. The lowest pressure possible is the vapour pressure or water.


Filtration

Filtration is a method of separating a solid from a liquid or an insoluble substance from a soluble one. The mixture is poured through a filter; the liquid that goes through the filter and is called the filtrate, and the solid that remains on the filter is called the residue.


First Law of Thermodynamics

The First Law of Thermodynamics states that in a system of constant mass, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but may be converted from one form to another.


Flocculation

Flocculation is a process of aggregating into larger clumps. Finely divided precipitates, where the particles are small enough to pass through the pores in a filter, need to undergo flocculation to form larger particles before filtration.


Fluorescence

Fluorescence is emission of light from compounds which have been illuminated, due to the return of the compound from an excited state to the ground state.


Fluorides

Fluorides are the salts of hydrofluoric acid.


Fluorination

Fluorination is a chemical reaction in which a fluorine atom is introduced into a molecule.


Fluorocarbons

Fluorocarbons are compounds obtained by replacing some or all the hydrogen atoms of hydrocarbons with fluorine atoms. Their high stability to temperature makes them suitable for a variety of uses, including aerosol propellants, oils, polymers, etc..

They are often known as freons. Their use in aerosols is one cause of the depletion of zone layer.


Fluorspar

Fluorite or fluorspar (i.e. calcium fluoride, CaF2) is a mineral that occurs in Derbyshire, crystallised in cubes or octahedral or in compact masses like marble. It is also called Derbyshire spar, or Blue Jhon, when the crystals are coloured blue or purple. The colourless transparent crystals show a bluish tinge when light falls on them, and this property is called fluorescence.

Fluorspar was described by Agricola in 1530AD, as fluor (from the Latin fluo, I flow), since it melts at a red heat, approximately 1330 degC.

Fluorspar is used chiefly as a flux material in the smelting of iron and steel. It is also used as a source of fluorine and hydrofluoric acid and in the manufacture of ceramics and in the optical-glass industry.


Foam

Foam is a dispersion of bubbles of gas in a liquid.


Folic Acid

Folic acid is a member of the vitamin B group of vitamins.


Force

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Formula

A formula is a way of representing a chemical compound using symbols for the atoms present. Subscripts are used to denote the numbers of each type of atom.


Fossil Fuels

The fossil fuels (i.e. coal, oil, natural gas, etc.) derive from the decay of vegetable matter and are used by man as a source of energy.


Fractional Crystallization

Fractional crystallization is a method of separating a mixture of soluble solids by dissolving them in a suitable hot solvent and then lowering the temperature slowly. The least soluble component will crystallize out first, leaving the other components in solution. By controlling the temperature, it is sometimes possible to remove each component in turn.


Fractional Distillation

Fractional distillation is similar to distillation, but uses an additional piece of apparatus called a fractionating column. A fractionating column contains glass rings or balls which provide a large surface area for condensation and re-evaporation. The vapour of the liquid with the lowest boiling point reaches the top of the column first. Fractional distillation is used to separate liquids with close boiling points.


Fractionating Column

A fractionating column is added before the condenser in fractional distillation and contains glass rings or balls which provide a large surface area for condensation and re-evaporation.


Frasch Process

The Frasch Process is a method of obtaining sulphur from underground deposits using a tube consisting of three concentric pipes. Superheated steam is passed down the outer pipe to melt the sulphur, which is then forced up through the intermediate pipe by compressed air from the inner tube. The steam in the outer casing keeps the sulphur molten in the pipe.


Free Radical

A Free radical is an atom, or group of atoms, which normally exist only in combination with other atoms, but which may exist independently for short periods during the course of a chemical reaction or for longer periods under special conditions.

Examples of free radical formation include the case where a chlorine molecule is dissociated by a photon of light into two chlorine radicals (i.e. unpaired chlorine atoms), which are highly reactive


				light	
			Cl2       	==>       2 	Cl*	

These radicals are then available to initiate and propagate other chemical reactions.


Free Radical Chain Reaction


The free radical chain reaction is the mechanism of many self-sustaining chemical reactions. Chain reactions are exothermic (i.e. they release large amounts of heat), but they may require a high temperature, or other special conditions, to start them. In the case of combustion, the initial heat is required for the bond breaking which is required to produce the free radicals, and initiate the chain reaction. However, when this initiation has been achieved, the chain reaction can proceed with the release of energy in sufficient quantity to continue to propagate the reaction.

For example, the combustion of alkanes which results in their complete oxidiation to carbon dioxide and water is a free radical chain reaction. Although this reaction is exothermic, a high temperature is required for initiation. This initial heat is required for the bond breaking which produces the free radicals that initialise the reaction. Thereafter, the large amounts of heat released during the course of the reaction sustains the reaction. Alkanes can be oxidised completely, by combustion, to give carbon dioxide and water. For example, methane burns in air.


	CH4   +   2O2   ==>   CO2   +   2H2O   +   energy	


Free Radical Polymerisation


Free radical Polymerisation is one mechanism for the conversion of a large number of small (i.e. low molecular weight) monomer molecules in to a small number of large (i.e. high molecular weight) Polymer molecules.

When ethylene is heated under great pressure in the presence of a suitable catalyst a large number of molecules combine together to form polythene (i.e. polyethylene). This reaction takes place by a Free Radical Mechanism, and three distinct stages are involved in the polymerisation process.

Initiation
The first step in the polymerisation process is the formation of a free radical, Rad*, from oxygen or from a suitable organic peroxide. This radical adds to a molecule of alkane and in so doing, it generates another free radical



			H H				    H H	
	Rad*	+	C=C		==>		Rad C-C*. 	
			H H				    H H	
Propagation
The new radical formed in the initiation step then adds another alkene molecule and gives rise to a larger radical :


	    H H		H H		    H H H H	
	Rad C-C*  + 	C=C	==>	Rad C-C-C-C*	
	    H H		H H		    H H H H	
And, these step is repeated many times to form a long chain hydrocarbon (i.e. polythene). At each step. the chain length grows by two carbon atoms.


	Rad (C2H4)n*  +  C2H4	==>	Rad (C2H4)n+1*	

Termination
This chain reaction involving the propagation stage will continue indefinitely unless stopped by one of a number of different mechanisms. It may be stopped by The overall effect of the polymerisation process is to convert a large number of monomer molecules into a single to polymer molecule.


		n(C2H4)	==>	(C2H4)n


Free Radical Substitution Reactions

The reaction of methane with chlorine in the presence of light is an example of a free radical chain reaction. The are three distinct steps in the mechanism by which the free radical chain reaction proceeds.
Initiation
which occurs when the absorption of light breaks the covalent bond which holds the chlorine atoms in the chlorine molecule together. This produces free chlorine atoms (i.e. chlorine free radicals).


			Cl2        ==>     2 Cl*				(1)	

Propagation
of the reaction then involves a number of reactions, involving the conversion of methane (a) into methyl chloride, CH3Cl, (b) then into methylene chloride, CH2Cl2, (c) then into chloroform, CHCl3, and (d) finally into carbon tetrachloride, CCl4.

The first step in the propagation
of the reaction involves the abstraction of a hydrogen atom from the methane molecule by the chlorine free radical, Cl*. This step also produces a molecule of hydrogen chloride and a methyl free radical, *CH3.


	Cl*     +     CH4     ==>     *CH3     +     HCl		(2)	

The methyl free radical then attacks a chlorine molecule to produce a molecule of methyl chloride and to regenerate a chlorine free radical, which proceeds to react as in step (2).


	*CH3     +     Cl2     ==>     CH3Cl     +     Cl*		(3)	

Reactions (2) and (3) are repeated until all the methane is depleted.

The second step of the propagation
of the reaction occurs when methane is depleted, when the methyl chloride molecules that were produced in the first step of the propagation will themselves be attacked, by chlorine free radical. This involves the abstraction of a hydrogen atom from the methyl chloride molecules by the chlorine free radical. This step also produces a molecule of hydrogen chloride and a methylene chloride free radical.


	CH3Cl     +     Cl*     ==>     *CH2Cl     +     HCl	(4)	

The methyl chloride free radical then attacks a chlorine molecule to produce a molecule of methylene chloride and to regenerate a chlorine free radical, which proceeds to react as in step (4).


	*CH2Cl     +     Cl2    ==>     CH2Cl2     +     Cl	(5)	

Reactions (4) and (5) are repeated until all the methyl chloride is depleted.

The third step of the propagation
of the reaction occurs when the methyl chloride molecules are depleted when the methylene chloride molecules that were produced in the second step of the propagation will themselves be attacked, by chlorine free radical. This involves the abstraction of a hydrogen atom from the methylene chloride molecules by the chlorine free radical. This step also produces a molecule of hydrogen chloride and a chloroform free radical.


	CH2Cl2     +     Cl*     ==>     *CHCl2     +     HCl	(6)	

The methylene chloride free radical then attacks a chlorine molecule to produce a molecule of chloroform and to regenerate a chlorine free radical, which proceeds to react as in reaction (6).


	*CHCl2     +     Cl2    ==>     CHCl3     +     Cl*	(7)	

Reactions (6) and (7) are repeated until all the methylene chloride is depleted.

The fourth step of the propagation
of the reaction occurs when the methylene chloride molecules are depleted when the chloroform molecules that were produced in the third step of the propagation will themselves be attacked by chlorine free radical. This involves the abstraction of a hydrogen atom from the chloroform molecules by the chlorine free radical. This step also produces a molecule of hydrogen chloride and a chloroform free radical.


	CHCl3     +     Cl*     ==>     *CCl3     +     HCl	(8)	

The chloroform free radical then attacks a chlorine molecule to produce a molecule of carbon tetrachloride and to regenerate a chlorine free radical, which proceeds to react as in reaction (8).


	*CCl3     +     Cl2    ==>     CCl4     +     Cl*		(9)	

Reactions (8) and (9) are repeated until all the chloroform is depleted.

Termination of the reaction
occurs when all the reactants have been consumed, or by the chance combination of two free radicals.

  • Cl*	+	*CCl3	==>	CCl4	
    

  • Cl*	+	Cl*	==>	Cl2	
    

  • *CCl3	+	*CCl3	==>	C2Cl6	
    


Freeze Drying

Freeze drying is the process used in dehydrating food, blood plasma and other heat sensitive substances. The product is deep frozen and the ice trapped in it removed by reducing the pressure and causing it to sublime. The water vapour is then removed, leaving an undamaged dry product.


Freezing

Freezing is the process by which a liquid changes from liquid to solid. It is the opposite of melting.


Freezing Point

The freezing point of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state from a liquid to a solid. The melting point and the freezing point are identical.


Friedel-Crafts Reaction


The Friedel-Crafts Reaction, named after the French chemist Charles Friedel (1832-99) and the US chemist James M Craft (1839-1917), consists essentially in the elimination of a molecule of halogen hydracid, usually hydrogen chloride or hydrogen bromide from the complex formed between the molecule of an aromatic compound and another halo-compound which may or may not be aromatic in character. This reaction is effected with the aid of anhydrous aluminum chloride as a catalyst.

The mechanism is an electrophilic substitution. The hydrogen atom which is eliminated must come from the nucleus of an aromatic body, and the halogen atom may be provided either by an aliphatic halogen compound or by an aromatic compound in which the halogen atom is present in a side chain (i.e. not in the nucleus).

For example, when benzene is heated with methyl chloride or bromide in the presence of the catalyst anhydrous aluminum chloride, toluene, CH3.C6H5 (i.e. methyl benzene) is obtained. The catalyst acts as an electron acceptor for a lone pair on the chlorine atom. This polarizes the haloalkane or acyl group.

It is worth noting that the Friedel-Crafts reaction has no parallel in aliphatic chemistry.


Fuel Cells

Fuel cells are electrochemical cells in which the chemical energy of a fuel is converted directly into electrical energy.


Fuel Oil

Fuel oil is a higher boiling fraction from the distillation of crude oil.


Functional Group

A functional group is an atom or a group of atoms that defines the characteristic properties of a particular family of compounds. Organic compounds are classified into a number of distinct homologous series of compounds, according to the functional groups which they contain.

For example, any compound containing the carboxyl functional group, -COOH, belongs to the carboxylic acid homologous series and acidic properties are always associated with the carboxylic acids due to the presence of an ionisable hydrogen atom. Some of the common functional groups are illustrated in the accompanying table.


Functional Group	General Formula		Name of Example

Alcohol R.OHCH3.OH Methanol Aldehyde R.CHOH.CHO Formaldehyde Ketone R.CO.R1CH3.CO.CH3 Acetone Acid R.COOHCH3.COOH Acetic Acid Ester R.COO.R1CH3.COO.C2H5 Ethyl Acetate Amide R.CO.NH2CH3.CO.NH2 Acetamide Amine R.NH2C6H5.NH2 Aniline


Fundamental Particles

The fundamental particles are the subatomic particles in the atomic particles, from which the atoms of all elements are made. The protons and neutrons exists in the nucleus, which is the central core of the atom, and the electrons travels in the orbitals about the nucleus of the atom. These atomic particles (i.e. protons, and neutrons) are themselves composed of the sub-atomic particles (i.e. the Quarks and Leptons), which are also called the fundamental particles.


Furan

Furan, C4H4O, is a colourless liquid.

It has a five membered ring consisting of four methylene groups, CH2, groups and one oxygen atom.


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