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A reagent or reactant is a substance or compound consumed during a chemical reaction
Chemical reaction

A chemical reaction is a process that always results in the interconversion of chemical substances. The substance or substances initially involved in a chemical reaction are called reactants....
. Solvent
Solvent

A solvent is a liquid or gas that dissolves a solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution.The most common solvent in everyday life is water....
s and catalysts, although they are involved in the reaction, are usually not referred to as reactants.

Although the terms reactant and reagent are often used interchangeably, a reagent is more specifically "a test substance that is added to a system in order to bring about a reaction or to see whether a reaction occurs".






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A reagent or reactant is a substance or compound consumed during a chemical reaction
Chemical reaction

A chemical reaction is a process that always results in the interconversion of chemical substances. The substance or substances initially involved in a chemical reaction are called reactants....
. Solvent
Solvent

A solvent is a liquid or gas that dissolves a solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution.The most common solvent in everyday life is water....
s and catalysts, although they are involved in the reaction, are usually not referred to as reactants.

Although the terms reactant and reagent are often used interchangeably, a reagent is more specifically "a test substance that is added to a system in order to bring about a reaction or to see whether a reaction occurs". Such a reaction is used to confirm the presence of another substance. Examples of such analytical reagents include Fehling's reagent and Tollens' reagent
Tollens' reagent

Tollens' reagent is usually ammoniacal silver nitrate, but can also be other compounds, as long as there is an aqueous solution Ammonia#Ammonia as a ligand complex ....
. In organic chemistry, reagents are compounds or mixtures, usually composed of inorganic or small organic molecules, that are used to effect a transformation on an organic substrate. Examples of organic reagents include the Collins reagent
Collins reagent

Collins reagent is the complex of chromium trioxide with pyridine in dichloromethane. It is used to selectively oxidize primary alcohols to the aldehyde, and will tolerate many other functional groups within the molecule....
, Fenton's reagent
Fenton's reagent

Fenton's reagent is a solution of hydrogen peroxide and an iron catalyst that is used to oxidize contaminants or waste waters. Fenton's reagent can be used to destroy organic compounds such as trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene ....
, and Grignard reagent.

In another use of the term, when purchasing or preparing chemicals, "reagent-grade" describes chemical substance
Chemical substance

A chemical substance is a material with a specific Empirical formula. It is a concept that became firmly established in the late eighteenth century after work by the chemist Joseph Proust on the composition of some pure chemical compounds such as basic copper carbonate....
s of sufficient purity
Purity

Purity is the absence of impurity in a substance.Purity may also refer to:* in Buddhism, Purity in Buddhism refers to a spiritual purity of character or essence....
 for use in chemical analysis, chemical reaction
Chemical reaction

A chemical reaction is a process that always results in the interconversion of chemical substances. The substance or substances initially involved in a chemical reaction are called reactants....
s or physical testing. Purity standards
Standardization

Standardization is the process of developing and agreeing upon Standard . A standard is a document that establishes uniform engineering or technical specifications, criteria, methods, processes, or practices....
 for reagents are set by organizations such as ASTM International
ASTM International

ASTM International , originally known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services....
. For instance, reagent-quality water
Water (molecule)

File:Blue-water-pool.jpgWater is the most abundant molecule on Earth's surface, constituting about 70% of the Earth's surface in liquid, solid, and gaseous states....
 must have very low levels of impurities like sodium
Sodium

Sodium is an element which has the symbol Na , atomic number 11, atomic mass 23 amu , and a common oxidation number +1. Sodium is a soft, silvery white, highly reactive element and is a member of the alkali metals within "group 1" ....
 and chloride
Chloride

The chloride ion is formed when the chemical element chlorine picks up one electron to form an anion Cl−....
 ions, silica, and bacteria
Bacteria

The Bacteria are a large group of unicellular microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals....
, as well as a very high electrical resistivity .

See also

  • Limiting reagent
    Limiting reagent

    In chemistry, the limiting reagent, also known as the "limiting reactant", is the chemical that determines how far the reaction will go before the chemical in question gets "used up", causing the reaction to stop....
  • Reagents for organic chemistry