Reactants capable of interacting to form products in a chemical reaction must first overcome a thermodynamic barrier know as the reactions :
Activation energy
activation energy or Ea.
Activation energy is the minimum amount of energy that needs to be supplied to reactant molecules in order to initiate a chemical reaction. This energy is required to break the existing chemical bonds between the reactant molecules and to form new bonds to make the products.
The activation energy can be different for different chemical reactions, and it depends on several factors such as the nature of the reactants, their physical state, concentration, temperature, pressure, and the presence of any catalysts or inhibitors.
Higher activation energy requires more energy to be supplied to overcome the thermodynamic barrier, and thus, the reaction will proceed at a slower rate. On the other hand, lower activation energy means that the reaction will proceed at a faster rate as less energy is required to initiate the reaction.
Catalysts can lower the activation energy and make the reaction faster by providing an alternative reaction pathway that has a lower activation energy barrier. Conversely, inhibitors can increase the activation energy barrier and slow down the reaction.
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