Chemistry – Metals - Extraction of metals | e-Consult

The rate of a chemical reaction is dependent on the frequency of effective collisions between reactant particles. Heating the reaction mixture increases the average kinetic energy of the reactant particles (Fe₂O₃ and CO). This results in more frequent and more energetic collisions.

However, not all collisions lead to a reaction. A certain amount of energy, known as the activation energy (E_a), must be present for a collision to result in a successful reaction (i.e., the breaking of bonds and formation of new ones).

When the temperature is increased, a greater proportion of the reactant particles possess kinetic energy equal to or greater than the activation energy. This means that a larger fraction of collisions are effective, leading to a higher rate of reaction. Therefore, heating the reaction mixture provides the necessary energy to overcome the activation energy barrier, increasing the frequency of successful collisions and accelerating the reaction.