Reactive intermediate

Reactive Intermediates denote energetic particles that occur as short-lived intermediates in organic and biochemical reactions.

Reactive intermediates are characterized by local minima in the reaction profile and need for their further implementation of a very low activation energy. Since they are not rate-limiting in a multistep reaction, they do not appear either in the reaction kinetics.

Important reactive intermediates are mainly carbenium ions, carbanions, radicals, carbenes and nitrenes.

Carbenium ions occur for example as reactive intermediates in CC bond-forming reactions, rearrangements and fragmentations.