 | This article possibly contains original research. (April 2017) |
In chemistry, chemical stability is the thermodynamic stability of a chemical system, in particular a chemical compound or a polymer.[1]
Thermodynamic stability occurs when a system is in its lowest energy state, or in chemical equilibrium with its environment. This may be a dynamic equilibrium in which individual atoms or molecules change form, but their overall number in a particular form is conserved. This type of chemical thermodynamic equilibrium will persist indefinitely unless the system is changed. Chemical systems might undergo changes in the phase of matter or a set of chemical reactions.
State A is said to be more thermodynamically stable than state B if the Gibbs free energy of the change from A to B is positive.
- ^ International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (February 24, 2014). "Stable". In McNaught, A. D.; Wilkinson, A.; Chalk, S. J. (eds.). Compendium of Chemical Terminology (2nd Online ed.). doi:10.1351/goldbook. ISBN 978-0-9678550-9-7.