Solvent dynamics influence on chemical reaction dynamics

For chemical reactions going on in solvents any transformations among the reactants are accompanied by corresponding reorganization of the surrounding solvent. A theory of the solvent reorganization dynamics influence on the chemical reaction dynamics is constructed for heavy particle charge transfer reactions in polar solvents. It is shown that the solvent’s influence on the reaction dynamics can be taken into account by introducing a few additional coordinates—the effective solvation (media) coordinates—so that the reaction subsystem involves these coordinates along with the ‘‘chemical’’ one, intrinsically responsible for the chemical conversion. Equations of motion for the reaction subsystem are derived. All the parameters appearing in these equations are explicitly expressed in terms of quantities characterizing both the reaction and the solvent.