Question

A student proposed the following mechanism for the gas phase reaction of fluorine with chlorine dioxide. ..... step 1 ..... fast: ...... 2 ClO2 Cl2O4 ..... step 2 ..... slow: .... Cl2O4 F2 2 FClO2 (1) What is the equation for the overall reaction

Answer 1

Explanation:

As the given equations are as follows.

   Step 1: $2ClO_{2} \rightleftharpoons Cl_{2}O_{4}$     (fast)

   Step 2: $Cl_{2}O_{4} + F_{2} \rightarrow 2FClO_{2}$     (slow)

So, in order to determine the overall reaction we will add both step 1 and step 2 as follows.

Step 1 + 2 : $2ClO_{2} Cl_{2}O_{4} + F_{2} \rightleftharpoons Cl_{2}O_{4} + 2FClO_{2}$    

Thus, by cancelling the common species we can conclude that the equation for overall reaction is  $2ClO_{2} + F_{2} \rightarrow 2FClO_{2}$.