Reaktivit

Reaktivit, commonly translated as reactivity, is the propensity of a substance to undergo chemical reactions or physical changes under specified conditions. In chemistry, reaktivit describes how readily a species reacts with others, depending on electronic structure, bond strengths, steric effects, and thermodynamic driving forces. Reaktivit is distinct from stability: a reaction may be thermodynamically favorable but kinetically slow.

Factors affecting reaktivit include temperature, pressure, concentration of reactants, presence of catalysts, solvent effects, and surface area for heterogeneous reactions. Electronic factors such as electron availability, oxidation state, and the presence of functional groups influence both nucleophilicity and electrophilicity, shaping reaction pathways.

Reaktivit is studied through reaction rates and mechanisms. The Arrhenius equation relates rate constants to temperature via activation energy. Reaction order, rate laws, and catalytic effects help predict how systems respond to changes in conditions. In metallurgy, a related concept is the reaktivit of metals, summarized in activity series used to predict displacement reactions and corrosion tendencies. In nuclear engineering, reaktivit measures a reactor's departure from criticality and is expressed in units such as dollars or percent delta-k by adjusting neutron population.

Applications of reaktivit concepts span chemical synthesis, materials science, environmental chemistry, and safety engineering. Related concepts include chemical kinetics, catalysis, oxidation–reduction, and corrosion science.