Effect of Pressure

Effect of Pressure

Definition:

• Pressure refers to the force exerted by gas particles in a container on the walls of the container.

Importance:

• Pressure can impact the rate of chemical reactions, especially in gaseous reactions.

Increased Pressure:

• Raising the pressure involves adding more gas particles to a given volume or decreasing the volume with the same number of gas particles.

Effect on Reaction Rate:

• Faster Reactions: Increasing pressure leads to a higher rate of reaction, primarily in gaseous reactions.
  • More gas particles result in more frequent collisions.
  • Example: In-car airbags, the rapid production of nitrogen gas at high pressure during a collision ensures quick inflation.
• Concentration Effect: Higher pressure effectively increases the concentration of reactants, similar to adding more reactants.

Applications:

• Industrial processes: High-pressure conditions for ammonia synthesis.
• Safety devices: Airbags deploy rapidly due to the high-pressure generation of gas.
• Research and manufacturing: Controlling pressure for specific reactions.