Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry
Activation energy (energy of activation; E
a
; E
act
):
The
enthalpy difference
(
Δ
H
) between the
reactants
and
transition state
for any given
reaction mechanism
step.
An
energy profile
showing activation energy.
Related terms:
Arrhenius equation
,
Δ
G
++
Wikipedia entry
Return to glossary index