Reactivity (chemistry)

In chemistry, reactivity is the impulse for which a chemical substance undergoes a chemical reaction, either by itself or with other materials, with an overall release of energy.

Reactivity refers to:

• the chemical reactions of a single substance,
• the chemical reactions of two or more substances that interact with each other,
• the systematic study of sets of reactions of these two kinds,
• methodology that applies to the study of reactivity of chemicals of all kinds,
• experimental methods that are used to observe these processes, and
• theories to predict and to account for these processes.

The chemical reactivity of a single substance (reactant) covers its behavior in which it:

• decomposes,
• forms new substances by addition of atoms from another reactant or reactants, and
• interacts with two or more other reactants to form two or more products.

The chemical reactivity of a substance can refer to the variety of circumstances (conditions that include temperature, pressure, presence of catalysts) in which it reacts, in combination with the:

• variety of substances with which it reacts,
• equilibrium point of the reaction (i.e., the extent to which all of it reacts), and
• rate of the reaction.

The term reactivity is related to the concepts of chemical stability and chemical compatibility.