Entropy-driven reactions

Definition

Entropy-driven reactions are chemical reactions in which the driving force is an increase in entropy, or disorder, of the system. These reactions tend to occur spontaneously and are favored when there is an increase in randomness or freedom of motion of particles.

Related terms

Gibbs Free Energy:

The Gibbs free energy is a thermodynamic quantity used to determine whether a reaction will be spontaneous (favorable) or non-spontaneous (unfavorable). It takes into account both enthalpy (heat flow) and entropy (disorder).

Second Law of Thermodynamics:

The second law states that the entropy of an isolated system tends to increase over time. In other words, natural processes generally move towards greater disorder or randomness.

Microstates: Microstates refer to different arrangements or configurations that particles can have within a system. In entropy-driven reactions, an increase in microstates leads to higher entropy and favors the reaction.