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Unimolecular Reaction

Molecular reactions include all chemical reactions; they are always the result of at least one molecular entity, but usually more than one, reacting in such a way that new substances are created, usually with the corresponding release or binding of energy. A unimolecular reaction is a very elementary reaction involving the rearrangement of a single molecule, which results in at least one changed molecule in product.

One common example of this is found in RNA. With thousands of binding points, it is common for RNA to cross over itself to form a hairpin shape, with a new covalent bond between at least two points on the molecule. This function is both useful and dangerous; RNA that has bound with itself behaves differently, is less reactive, and may not expose necessary or dangerous locations on itself that proteins can be created on. Without the hairpin curve caused by a unimolecular reaction, however, life as we know it could not exist.

Most important unimolecular reactions are either the result of large and unstable molecules breaking down, or they are involved in complex processes within large organic molecules like RNA.

Web Resources On Unimolecular Reaction

Theories of Unimolecular Reaction Rates
A Calculational Data Base for Unimolecular Reaction

Book Resources On Unimolecular Reaction

Unimolecular Reactions : A Concise Introduction by Wendell Forst
Unimolecular Reactions by Kenneth A. Holbrook et al.

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