CHAPTER 7: Conformational, Allosteric and Structural Chemistry: Theoretical Description

Electrochemical reactions from conducting polymers follow chemical kinetic models. Starting from the same shrunk or conformationally compacted initial state, the reaction empirical kinetics can be attained using the initial oxidation or reduction rates method: activation energy (E_a), reaction coefficient (k) and reactions orders (a and b) are determined. A chemical kinetic evolution emerges when the procedure is repeated using a different conformationally packed initial state every time: E_a, k, a and b change as a function of (and give quantitative information about) the initial conformational state of the reactant. The electrochemically stimulated conformational relaxation (ESCR) model describes and quantifies the conformational energy of the initial states (z_cη_c), giving a quantitative explanation of the empirical results. The chemical kinetics become structural chemical kinetics and the kinetic magnitudes become structural kinetic magnitudes. Both the ESCR model and the attained equations can be used to describe and quantify enzymatic, allosteric and other biochemical processes and functions, which will be addressed in subsequent chapters. The open chemical border announces a quantitative description of life functions and malfunctions through physical–chemical equations.