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reactive intermediate

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From Wikipedia... reactive intermediate

Molecular entity formed as an elementary step in a multi-step chemical reaction

In chemistry, a reaction intermediate, or intermediate, is a molecular entity arising within the sequence of a stepwise chemical reaction. It is formed as the reaction product of an elementary step, from the reactants and/or preceding intermediates, but is consumed in a later step. It does not appear in the chemical equation for the overall reaction. For example, consider this hypothetical reaction:

A + B → C + D