How do decomposition reactions work

Chapter Chemical Kinetics. Chapter Chemical Equilibrium. Chapter Acids and Bases. Chapter Acid-base and Solubility Equilibria.

Chapter Thermodynamics. Chapter Electrochemistry. Chapter Radioactivity and Nuclear Chemistry. Chapter Transition Metals and Coordination Complexes. Chapter Biochemistry. Full Table of Contents. This is a sample clip.

Sign in or start your free trial. JoVE Core Chemistry. Previous Video. Embed Share. Generally, in a chemical reaction, molecules interact by breaking one set of bonds and forming a new set of bonds.

Notice that in all cases, multiple simpler reactants combined into a single complex product. Please enter your institutional email to check if you have access to this content. Please create an account to get access. Forgot Password? Please enter your email address so we may send you a link to reset your password.

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Thank You. Please enjoy a free hour trial. In order to begin, please login. Please click here to activate your free hour trial. If you do not wish to begin your trial now, you can log back into JoVE at any time to begin. Save to playlist. Hydrogen peroxide, for example, is actually decomposing all the time but at a very slow rate. By introducing a catalyst, however, we can speed up the reaction. Hydrogen peroxide H 2 O 2 is constantly decomposing because its chemical structure contains an incredibly weak and unstable peroxide bond single oxygen-oxygen bond.

Because this bond is so weak, it can easily break, causing hydrogen peroxide to decompose into water and oxygen. Therefore, the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide happens naturally and gives it a finite shelf-life. This is why it is stored very carefully in dark, plastic containers.

But when a catalyst is added, the decomposition reaction is sped up and has actually become one of the most popular science experiments in and out of the classroom. When a catalyst is added to hydrogen peroxide, the solution begins fizzing very quickly and will rise out of the container like a big cylinder of foam. This happens because of the rapid liberation of oxygen gas, which forms bubbles. The equation for the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide is:. Another example of a catalytic decomposition reaction is when sugar is catalysed by a strong, concentrated acid like sulphuric acid.

This causes sugar to decompose into carbon and water, and the reaction causes the sugar to change from white to black. Even sugar undergoes decomposition when a catalyst is introduced to it. In this reaction, sugar turns into a black liquid as it breaks down into carbon and water. ReAgent is a leading UK chemical manufacturer who has over 40 years of industry experience. We stock a huge range of products in our online shop, which you can buy in a variety of different pack sizes.

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If you have health and safety related questions, visit HSE. Contact Us. ReAgent Chemical Services. Alright so this is, yeah so decomposition reactions are one of the 5 that you'll see in class. All Chemistry videos Unit Chemical Reactions. Previous Unit Chemical Bonds. Next Unit Kinetic-Molecular Theory. Kendal Orenstein. Thank you for watching the video.

Start Your Free Trial Learn more. Kendal Orenstein Rutger's University M. Explanation Transcript A decomposition reaction is a reaction in which a single reactant produces multiple products. Chemistry Chemical Reactions. Science Biology Chemistry Physics. English Grammar Writing Literature. All Rights Reserved.