Response reactions: equilibrium coupling.
It is pointed out and illustrated in the present paper that if a homogeneous multiple equilibrium system containing k components and q species is composed of the reactants actually taken and their reactions contain only k + 1 species, then we have a unique representation with (q - k) stoichiometrically independent reactions (SIRs). We define these as coupling reactions. All the other possible combinations with k + 1 species are the coupled reactions that are in equilibrium when the (q - k) SIRs are in equilibrium. The response of the equilibrium state for perturbation is determined by the coupling and coupled equilibria. Depending on the circumstances and the actual thermodynamic data, the effect of coupled equilibria may overtake the effect of the coupling ones, leading to phenomena that are in apparent contradiction with Le Chatelier's principle.