Researchers discover new class of chemical reaction
(PHYSorg.com Chemistry)

August 14, 2017-A new study led by Michael P. Burke, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia Engineering, has identified the significance of a new class of chemical reactions involving three molecules that each participate in the breaking and forming of chemical bonds. The reaction of three different molecules is enabled by an `ephemeral collision complex,` formed from the collision of two molecules, which lives long enough to collide with a third molecule.