TeXipedia

rightleftharpoons

Represents a reversible chemical reaction or equilibrium relationship with double-headed harpoon arrows pointing in opposite directions.

Overview

Essential notation in chemistry and physical sciences for depicting equilibrium reactions where reactants and products can interconvert. The double harpoon arrows emphasize the bidirectional nature of the process, distinguishing it from simple reversible reactions.

  • Widely used in chemical equation balancing and reaction mechanisms
  • Common in physical chemistry for showing dynamic equilibrium states
  • More formal than the simple double arrow (⇌) when indicating reversible processes
  • Often appears in academic papers and textbooks discussing reaction kinetics

Examples

Mathematical relation showing bijective mapping between sets.

A⇌BA \rightleftharpoons B 
A \rightleftharpoons B

Dynamic equilibrium in physical systems.

Solid⇌Liquid\text{Solid} \rightleftharpoons \text{Liquid} 
\text{Solid} \rightleftharpoons \text{Liquid}