preequilibrium

English

Alternative forms

• pre-equilibrium

Etymology

pre- +‎ equilibrium

Adjective

preequilibrium (not comparable)

1. Before equilibrium

Noun

preequilibrium (plural preequilibria)

1. The initial stage of a chemical reaction when the different chemicals are beginning to interact but have not yet reached equilibrium.
   • 1992, International journal of chemical kinetics, page 1110:

     The decomposition of peroxydisulfate to sulfate radical ions was taken to be a rapid preequilibrium, and was postulated to be followed by the rate-determining reaction of a sulfate radical ion with MG to produce a radical intermediate, I.

   • 2009, Stephen J. Lippard, Current Research Topics in Bioinorganic Chemistry, Volume 18:

     In cases involving multiple preequilibria (e.g., multiple substrates, induced conformational change), K.,, reveals little about each of these steps individually. In the case of allosteric interaction, characteristic kinetic behavior is...