Product (chemistry)

Products are the species formed from chemical reactions. During a chemical reaction reactants are transformed into products after passing through a high energy transition state. This process results in the consumption of the reactants. It can be a spontaneous reaction or mediated by catalysts which lower the energy of the transition state, and by solvents which provide the chemical environment necessary for the reaction to take place. When represented in chemical equations products are by convention drawn on the right-hand side, even in the case of reversible reactions. The properties of products such as their energies help determine several characteristics of a chemical reaction such as whether the reaction is exergonic or endergonic. Additionally the properties of a product can make it easier to extract and purify following a chemical reaction, especially if the product has a different state of matter than the reactants. Reactants are molecular materials used to create chemical reactions. The atoms aren't created or destroyed. The materials are reactive and reactants are rearranging during a chemical reaction. Here is an example of reactants: CH4 + O2. A non-example is CO2 + H2O or "energy".

Spontaneous reaction

Catalysed reaction

Much of chemistry research is focused on the synthesis and characterization of beneficial products, as well as the detection and removal of undesirable products. Synthetic chemists can be subdivided into research chemists who design new chemicals and pioneer new methods for synthesizing chemicals, as well as process chemists who scale up chemical production and make it safer, more environmentally sustainable, and more efficient. Other fields include natural product chemists who isolate products created by living organisms and then characterize and study these products.

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