Chemical reactions occur when reactants collide. What are two factors that may prevent a collision from producing a chemical reaction?

Carbon monoxide is a pollutant that is produced during the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels. Automobiles have catalytic converters that use a catalyst to carry out this reaction to reduce this pollutant. It is also a byproduct of gunpowder combustion that causes muzzle flash in many firearms. At high temperatures and pressure, the reaction is spontaneous if sufficient amounts of carbon monoxide and oxygen are present.

The collision of two molecules is the first step in the gas-phase reaction of carbon monoxide and oxygen:

\({\bf{CO}}\left( {\bf{g}} \right){\bf{ + }}{{\bf{O}}_{\bf{2}}}\left( {\bf{g}} \right) \to {\bf{C}}{{\bf{O}}_{\bf{2}}}\left( {\bf{g}} \right){\bf{ + O}}\left( {\bf{g}} \right)\)

In the primary case, the oxygen aspect of the carbon monoxide molecule collides with the oxygen molecule.

In the second case, the carbon aspect of the carbon monoxide molecule collides with the oxygen molecule. The second case truly favors the formation of carbon dioxide (O = C = O), which has a crucial carbon atom bonded to 2 oxygen atoms. This is an easy example of ways critical collision orientation is in generating the favored response product. Two possible collisions between carbon monoxide and oxygen molecules. The orientation of the colliding molecules influences whether or not a reaction between the two molecules occurs.