In chemistry and particularly biochemistry, an energy-rich species (usually energy-rich molecule) or high-energy species (usually high-energy molecule) is a chemical species which reacts, potentially with other species found in the environment, to release chemical energy.[citation needed]

In particular, the term is often used for:

ATP + H
2
O
ADP + Pi   ΔG°' = −30.5 kJ/mol (−7.3 kcal/mol)

This is contrasted to species that are either part of the environment (this sometimes includes diatomic triplet oxygen) or do not react with the environment (such as many metal oxides or calcium carbonate); those species are not considered energy-rich or high-energy species.

Alternative definitions

edit

The term is often used without a definition. Some authors define the term "high-energy" to be equivalent to "chemically unstable", while others reserve the term for high-energy phosphates, such as the Great Soviet Encyclopedia which defines the term "high-energy compounds" to refer exclusively to those.

The IUPAC glossary of terms used in ecotoxicology defines a primary producer as an "organism capable of using the energy derived from light or a chemical substance in order to manufacture energy-rich organic compounds".[8] However, IUPAC does not formally define the meaning of "energy-rich".

References

edit
  1. ^ "Overview of Metabolic Reactions".
  2. ^ "Uses of NADPH".
  3. ^ "High Energy Molecule".
  4. ^ "Energy Sources and Air Pollution".
  5. ^ "Explain why glucose is considered a high energy molecule while CO2 and H20 are considered low energy molecules".
  6. ^ "Photocatalysis: Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Semiconductors as Stable Photoelectrocatalysts for Efficient Hydrogen Peroxide Photosynthesis". Advanced Functional Materials. 26 (29). 1 August 2016. doi:10.1002/adfm.201670188. S2CID 100293856.
  7. ^ "Writing Lewis Structures and Octet Rule: Electrons Stable States and Exceptions".
  8. ^ Nordberg, Monica; Templeton, Douglas M.; Andersen, Ole; Duffus, John H. "Primary Producer". Glossary of Terms Used in Ecotoxicology. doi:10.1515/iupac.81.0724.