Reply to ‘Comment on “The mathematical origins of the kinetic compensation effect” Parts 1 and 2’ by A. Yelon, E. Sacher and W. Linert, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14, DOI: 10.1039/c2cp40618g

Abstract

The mathematical and physicochemical explanations of the kinetic compensation effect are discussed. There are cases in which apparent kinetic compensation effects have a mathematical origin. This may be because of random errors or systematic errors in experimental data. It may also be the case when the temperature dependence of the overall rate of a chemical process is analysed, rather than that of an intrinsic rate constant. There are cases in which the kinetic compensation effect is genuine and has a physicochemical origin. In these cases, the kinetic compensation effect is useful and has predictive power.