Skip to main content
Reaction Mechanism
15. Chemical Kinetics / Reaction Mechanism / Problem 5

Consider the reaction below:
A + C2 → AC2
The reaction is first-order in A and first-order in C2.
Two mechanisms are proposed for the reaction: 
Mechanism 1 (single-step):
A + C2 → AC 
Mechanism 2:
B + C2 → BC + C slow
A + BC → AB + C fast
AB +  2 C → AC+ B fast
Are both mechanisms valid? If yes why? 

Learn this concept