Chemistry 130 Gibbs Free Energy Dr. John F. C. Turner 409 Buehler Hall
[email protected] Chemistry 130 Equilibrium and energy So far in chemistry 130, and in Chemistry 120, we have described chemical reactions thermodynamically by using U - the change in internal energy, U, which involves heat transferring in or out of the system only or H - the change in enthalpy, H, which involves heat transfers in and out of the system as well as changes in work. U applies at constant volume, where as H applies at constant pressure. Chemistry 130 Equilibrium and energy When chemical systems change, either physically through melting, evaporation, freezing or some other physical process variables (V, P, T) or chemically by reaction variables (ni) they move to a point of equilibrium by either exothermic or endothermic processes. Characterizing the change as exothermic or endothermic does not tell us whether the change is spontaneous or not. Both endothermic and exothermic processes are seen to occur spontaneously. Chemistry 130 Equilibrium and energy Our descriptions of reactions and other chemical changes are on the basis of exothermicity or endothermicity ± whether H is negative or positive H is negative ± exothermic H is positive ± endothermic As a description of changes in heat content and work, these are adequate but they do not describe whether a process is spontaneous or not. There are endothermic processes that are spontaneous ± evaporation of water, the dissolution of ammonium chloride in water, the melting of ice and so on. We need a thermodynamic description of spontaneous processes in order to fully describe a chemical system Chemistry 130 Equilibrium and energy A spontaneous process is one that takes place without any influence external to the system.