In the hydrogenation of ethylene using a nickel catalyst, the initial concentration of ethylene is 1.70 mol⋅L−1 and its rate constant (k) is 0.0013 mol⋅L−1⋅s−1 . Determine the rate of reaction if it follows a zero-order reaction mechanism.

Rate = rate constant = 0.0013 mol⋅L−1⋅s−1

Explanation:

The rate law for a chemical reaction is an equation that relates the reaction rate with the concentrations or partial pressures of the reactants. For the general reaction;

aA+bB→C

with no intermediate steps in its reaction mechanism, meaning that it is an elementary reaction, the rate law is given by:

r=k[A]^x[B]^y

In this equation, [A] and [B] express the concentrations of A and B, respectively, in units of moles per liter. and k =  rate constant

A zero-order reaction has a constant rate that is independent of the concentration of the reactant(s); the rate law is simply rate=k. For a zero-order reaction, increasing the concentration of the reacting species will not speed up the rate of the reaction.

The rate law for a zero-order reaction is rate = k.

This means the rate of the reaction is give as;

Rate = rate constant = 0.0013 mol⋅L−1⋅s−1