In
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
and
thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, Work (thermodynamics), work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed b ...
, the standard enthalpy of formation or standard heat of formation of a
compound is the change of
enthalpy
Enthalpy () is the sum of a thermodynamic system's internal energy and the product of its pressure and volume. It is a state function in thermodynamics used in many measurements in chemical, biological, and physical systems at a constant extern ...
during the formation of 1
mole of the substance from its constituent
elements in their reference state, with all substances in their
standard state
The standard state of a material (pure substance, mixture or solution) is a reference point used to calculate its properties under different conditions. A degree sign (°) or a superscript ⦵ symbol (⦵) is used to designate a thermodynamic q ...
s. The standard
pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...
value is recommended by
IUPAC
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is ...
, although prior to 1982 the value 1.00
atm (101.325 kPa) was used. There is no standard temperature. Its symbol is Δ
f''H''
⦵. The superscript
Plimsoll on this symbol indicates that the process has occurred under standard conditions at the specified temperature (usually 25 °C or 298.15 K).
Standard states are defined for various types of substances. For a gas, it is the hypothetical state the gas would assume if it obeyed the
ideal gas equation
The ideal gas law, also called the general gas equation, is the equation of state of a hypothetical ideal gas. It is a good approximation of the behavior of many gases under many conditions, although it has several limitations. It was first sta ...
at a pressure of 1 bar. For a gaseous or solid
solute
In chemistry, a solution is defined by IUPAC as "A liquid or solid phase containing more than one substance, when for convenience one (or more) substance, which is called the solvent, is treated differently from the other substances, which are ...
present in a diluted
ideal solution, the standard state is the hypothetical state of concentration of the solute of exactly one mole per liter (1
M) at a pressure of 1 bar extrapolated from infinite dilution. For a pure substance or a
solvent
A solvent (from the Latin language, Latin ''wikt:solvo#Latin, solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a Solution (chemistry), solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas ...
in a condensed state (a liquid or a solid) the standard state is the pure liquid or solid under a pressure of 1 bar.
For elements that have multiple
allotropes
Allotropy or allotropism () is the property of some chemical elements to exist in two or more different forms, in the same physical state, known as allotropes of the elements. Allotropes are different structural modifications of an element: th ...
, the reference state usually is chosen to be the form in which the element is most stable under 1 bar of pressure. One exception is
phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...
, for which the most stable form at 1 bar is
black phosphorus, but white phosphorus is chosen as the standard reference state for zero enthalpy of formation.
For example, the standard enthalpy of formation of
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
is the enthalpy of the following reaction under the above conditions:
:
C(s, graphite) + O2(g) -> CO2(g)
All elements are written in their standard states, and one mole of product is formed. This is true for all enthalpies of formation.
The standard enthalpy of formation is measured in units of energy per amount of substance, usually stated in
kilojoule per mole (kJ mol
−1), but also in
kilocalorie per mole,
joule
The joule ( , or ; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). In terms of SI base units, one joule corresponds to one kilogram- metre squared per second squared One joule is equal to the amount of work d ...
per mole or kilocalorie per
gram
The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one thousandth of a kilogram.
Originally defined in 1795 as "the absolute Mass versus weight, weight of a volume ...
(any combination of these units conforming to the energy per mass or amount guideline).
All elements in their reference states (
oxygen
Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
gas, solid
carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...
in the form of
graphite
Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...
, etc.) have a standard enthalpy of formation of zero, as there is no change involved in their formation.
The formation reaction is a constant pressure and constant temperature process. Since the pressure of the standard formation reaction is fixed at 1 bar, the standard formation enthalpy or reaction heat is a function of temperature. For tabulation purposes, standard formation enthalpies are all given at a single temperature: 298 K, represented by the symbol .
Hess' law
For many substances, the formation reaction may be considered as the sum of a number of simpler reactions, either real or fictitious. The
enthalpy of reaction
The standard enthalpy of reaction (denoted \Delta H_^\ominus) for a chemical reaction is the difference between total product and total reactant molar enthalpies, calculated for substances in their standard states. The value can be approximately i ...
can then be analyzed by applying
Hess' law, which states that the ''sum'' of the enthalpy changes for a number of individual reaction steps equals the enthalpy change of the overall reaction. This is true because enthalpy is a
state function
In the thermodynamics of equilibrium, a state function, function of state, or point function for a thermodynamic system is a mathematical function relating several state variables or state quantities (that describe equilibrium states of a syste ...
, whose value for an overall process depends only on the initial and final states and not on any intermediate states. Examples are given in the following sections.
Ionic compounds: Born–Haber cycle

For ionic compounds, the standard enthalpy of formation is equivalent to the sum of several terms included in the
Born–Haber cycle. For example, the formation of
lithium fluoride,
:
Li(s) + 1/2 F2(g) -> LiF(s)
may be considered as the sum of several steps, each with its own enthalpy (or energy, approximately):
# , the
standard enthalpy of atomization (or
sublimation) of solid lithium.
# , the
first ionization energy of gaseous lithium.
# , the standard
enthalpy of atomization (or bond energy) of fluorine gas.
# , the
electron affinity
The electron affinity (''E''ea) of an atom or molecule is defined as the amount of energy released when an electron attaches to a neutral atom or molecule in the gaseous state to form an anion.
::X(g) + e− → X−(g) + energy
This differs by si ...
of a fluorine atom.
# , the
lattice energy
In chemistry, the lattice energy is the energy change (released) upon formation of one mole of a crystalline compound from its infinitely separated constituents, which are assumed to initially be in the gaseous state at 0 K. It is a measure of ...
of lithium fluoride.
The sum of these enthalpies give the standard enthalpy of formation () of lithium fluoride:
:
In practice, the enthalpy of formation of lithium fluoride can be determined experimentally, but the lattice energy cannot be measured directly. The equation is therefore rearranged to evaluate the lattice energy:
:
Organic compounds
The formation reactions for most organic compounds are hypothetical. For instance, carbon and hydrogen will not directly react to form
methane
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...
(), so that the standard enthalpy of formation cannot be measured directly. However the
standard enthalpy of combustion is readily measurable using
bomb calorimetry. The standard enthalpy of formation is then determined using
Hess's law. The combustion of methane:
:
CH4 + 2 O2 -> CO2 + 2 H2O
is equivalent to the sum of the hypothetical decomposition into elements followed by the combustion of the elements to form
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
() and water ():
:
CH4 -> C + 2H2
:
C + O2 -> CO2
:
2H2 + O2 -> 2H2O
Applying Hess's law,
:
Solving for the standard of enthalpy of formation,
:
The value of is determined to be −74.8 kJ/mol. The negative sign shows that the reaction, if it were to proceed, would be
exothermic
In thermodynamics, an exothermic process () is a thermodynamic process or reaction that releases energy from the system to its surroundings, usually in the form of heat, but also in a form of light (e.g. a spark, flame, or flash), electricity (e ...
; that is, methane is enthalpically more stable than hydrogen gas and carbon.
It is possible to predict heats of formation for simple
unstrained organic compounds with the
heat of formation group additivity method.
Use in calculation for other reactions
The
standard enthalpy change of any reaction can be calculated from the standard enthalpies of formation of reactants and products using Hess's law. A given reaction is considered as the decomposition of all reactants into elements in their standard states, followed by the formation of all products. The heat of reaction is then ''minus'' the sum of the standard enthalpies of formation of the reactants (each being multiplied by its respective stoichiometric coefficient, ) ''plus'' the sum of the standard enthalpies of formation of the products (each also multiplied by its respective stoichiometric coefficient), as shown in the equation below:
:
If the standard enthalpy of the products is less than the standard enthalpy of the reactants, the standard enthalpy of reaction is negative. This implies that the reaction is exothermic. The converse is also true; the standard enthalpy of reaction is positive for an endothermic reaction. This calculation has a tacit assumption of
ideal solution between reactants and products where the
enthalpy of mixing
In thermodynamics, the enthalpy of mixing (also heat of mixing and excess enthalpy) is the enthalpy liberated or absorbed from a substance upon mixing. When a substance or compound is combined with any other substance or compound, the enthalpy ...
is zero.
For example, for the combustion of methane,
CH4 + 2O2 -> CO2 + 2H2O:
:
However
O2 is an element in its standard state, so that
, and the heat of reaction is simplified to
:
which is the equation in the previous section for the enthalpy of combustion
.
Key concepts for enthalpy calculations
*When a reaction is reversed, the magnitude of Δ''H'' stays the same, but the sign changes.
*When the balanced equation for a reaction is multiplied by an integer, the corresponding value of Δ''H'' must be multiplied by that integer as well.
*The change in enthalpy for a reaction can be calculated from the enthalpies of formation of the reactants and the products
*Elements in their standard states make no contribution to the enthalpy calculations for the reaction, since the enthalpy of an element in its standard state is zero.
Allotropes
Allotropy or allotropism () is the property of some chemical elements to exist in two or more different forms, in the same physical state, known as allotropes of the elements. Allotropes are different structural modifications of an element: th ...
of an element other than the standard state generally have non-zero standard enthalpies of formation.
Examples: standard enthalpies of formation at 25 °C
Thermochemical properties of selected substances at 298.15 K and 1 atm
Inorganic substances
Aliphatic hydrocarbons
Other organic compounds
See also
*
Calorimetry
In chemistry and thermodynamics, calorimetry () is the science or act of measuring changes in '' state variables'' of a body for the purpose of deriving the heat transfer associated with changes of its state due, for example, to chemical reac ...
*
Thermochemistry
References
* {{Cite book, last1=Zumdahl, first1= Steven , year=2009, title= Chemical Principles, edition= 6th , pages=384–387, publisher= Houghton Mifflin, location= Boston. New York, isbn= 978-0-547-19626-8
External links
NIST Chemistry WebBook
Enthalpy
Thermochemistry
de:Enthalpie#Standardbildungsenthalpie