A species of very short life that occurs as an intermediate in a chemical reaction.
An
activated complex (or
transition state) is a special case.
Source:
PAC, 1996, 68, 149
(A glossary of terms used in chemical kinetics, including reaction dynamics (IUPAC
Recommendations 1996))
on page 184
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.
