Question

can a reaction have zero activation energy ?

Answer 1

Hey !!

If Ea = 0, then according to Arrhenius equation k = Ae-Ea/RT = Ae° = A. This implies that every collision results into a chemical reaction which cannot be true. Hence, a relation cannot have zero activation energy.

Hope it helps you !!

Answer 2

Explanation:

According to Arrhenius equation,

                       K = $Ae^{\frac{-E_{a}}{RT}}$

So, when activation energy is zero then it means the value of $E_{a}$ = 0.

Therefore,       K = $Ae^{\frac{-E_{a}}{RT}}$

                           = $Ae^{\frac{0}{RT}}$

                           = A

Hence, K = A when activation energy is equal to 0. In that case, there will occur effective collisions between the molecules which is not possible.

Therefore, we can conclude that can a reaction can never have zero activation energy.