Weakly bound complexes with a potential minimum that precedes the
activation barrier along the
reaction path. In contrast with the van der Waals complexes, which fall apart reversibly into their
constituents, the pre-reactive complexes may undergo a vigorous reaction to form different
products.
Source:
Cite as:
IUPAC. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book"). Compiled by
A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997).
XML on-line corrected version: http://goldbook.iupac.org (2006-) created by M. Nic,
J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN 0-9678550-9-8.
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.
