reactiekant

Reactiekant is a Dutch-language term built from the elements reaction (reactie) and side or face (kant). It is not a universally standardized term, but appears in chemistry and related fields to refer to a particular side or aspect of a process, with meanings that vary by context.

In chemistry, the reactiekant commonly denotes the side of a chemical equation that contains the reactants before the reaction takes place. In discussions of stoichiometry, balancing, or reaction mechanisms, the reactiekant is often contrasted with the productskant (the product side). For example, in the equation 2 H2 + O2 -> 2 H2O, the reactiekant includes 2 H2 and O2.

In materials science and solid-state chemistry, the term can also describe the moving interface where reaction occurs, sometimes called the reaction front. Here the reactiekant represents the boundary between unreacted material and newly formed product material, and it can advance as diffusion, temperature, and concentration gradients drive the reaction.

Variations in usage include terms such as reactantenkant or reactiezijde in some texts, reflecting a preference for identifying the reactants themselves. Because the meaning of reactiekant is not fixed across all disciplines, its exact interpretation depends on the author and the field of application.