Thus, one of our goals in this chapter will be to study the structure and function of transition metal complexes. Solids are also relatively easy to model because, while the interactions are strong, the degree of order and symmetry can be very high. Liquids are more difficult because they fall in between gases and solids, and have neither long-range order nor total chaos. In this chapter we will also be concerned with intermolecular interactions and the equilibria between the three states of matter as summarized in a phase diagram. When the mixture is homogeneous it is called a solution.
Solutions can be gases, liquids, or solids.
However, we will be concerned mainly with aqueous liquid solutions. Many essential chemical reactions, including those that support life, occur in aqueous solution. This is the province of chemical kinetics. In a typical kinetic study experimental reaction rate data is analyzed to determine the rate law and then a reaction mechanism is sought which is consistent with the experimental rate law. Catalysis and the temperature dependence of chemical reaction rates will also be studied.