bond cleavage
Breaking chemical links
Bond cleavage is the breaking of a chemical bond between atoms in a molecule.
The term appears in chemistry and biochemistry to describe how molecules split apart, whether through enzymatic action, heat, light, or chemical reaction: The enzyme catalyzes bond cleavage at specific sites.
Homolytic cleavage splits electrons equally between atoms; heterolytic cleavage gives both electrons to one atom.
- breakageAct of shattering
- splittingDividing into parts
- ruptureViolent tearing apart
- scissionAct of cutting
- fissionNuclear breakup releasing energy
split apart · hydrolysis · enzyme · enzyme action · catalyst · protein · peptide · snapping · breaking point · severing · fracture · disulfide · covalent · free radical · radical · chain reaction · energy · reaction
- reaction mechanismsSN1, SN2, elimination, substitution, addition
- bond breakingdissociation, fission, scission, splitting, fragmentation
- photochemistryphotochemistry, light absorption, photon, photons, fluorescence
bond cleavagechemical bonding
Atoms joining into molecules
cross-linking · polymerization · condensation · ligation · coupling reaction
bond cleavagesynthesis
Combining parts into whole
construction · assembly · building up · anabolism · biosynthesis
bond, bonds, bonded, bonding, bondage, bondsman, cleave, cleavage, cleaved