A gaseous chain reaction involving strictly the photochemical radical synthesis of hydrogen chloride — Chemical Kinetics Chemistry Question
Question
A gaseous chain reaction involving strictly the photochemical radical synthesis of hydrogen chloride, specifically defined as $H_2(g) + Cl_2(g) \xrightarrow{h\nu} 2HCl(g)$, is universally known to rigorously follow which specific macroscopic kinetic reaction order?
💡 Solution & Explanation
Because the massive activation energy barrier is entirely overcome by the external absorption of high-energy photon quanta ($h\nu$) rather than thermal ambient collisions, the overall rate of product generation becomes purely dependent on incoming light intensity, entirely detaching from reactant concentration. Thus, it is perfectly Zero Order.