Gibbs Free Energy: A Measure of Thermodynamic Potential

What is Gibbs Free Energy?

Gibbs free energy, also known as Gibbs function or free enthalpy, is a quantity used to measure the maximum amount of work that can be extracted from a thermodynamic system at constant temperature and pressure.

Key Aspects of Gibbs Free Energy

Gibbs free energy, denoted as G, combines enthalpy (H) and entropy (S) into a single value. The change in free energy (ΔG) is equal to the sum of the enthalpy change (ΔH) and the product of temperature (T) and entropy change (ΔS): ΔG = ΔH - TΔS.

Gibbs free energy is important in thermodynamics because it allows us to predict aspects of chemical reactions. A negative change in free energy indicates that a reaction will proceed spontaneously, while a positive change indicates that the reaction will not occur on its own.