CHEMISTRY COMMUNITY

Can someone please explain the significance of zero order reactions as they relate to the rates of reactions and give an example of one? Thank you

For zero order reactions, the concentration of reactant [R] has no impact on the rate. This happens when the reaction is catalyzed by an enzyme and the enzyme becomes saturated, so adding more reactant will not increase the rate of reaction.

Zero order reactions are significant because we may encounter a reaction where the rate is independent of the product such as an enzyme or catalyst reaction but we still may need to calculate a half life or rate constant. This is why we have equations for the zero order reactions.

zero order reaction means that the rate of the reaction is independent of the reactant concentration. So whenever the concentration of reactants changes, the rate will not change.
Therefore, the rate differential law equation is Rate = k.
[A] = [A]0 - kt
Usually, a catalyst is present in zero order reaction.

Example.
The reverse process of harbor process is a zero order reaction as it is independent of the concentration of NH3.