[qwerty12321]

I am investigating the effects of temperature on the dissociation of hypochlorous acid (HOCl), and am largely trying to relate this back to the system's tendency towards a state of minimum free energy. However, I am struggling to put all the information together in a way that makes sense.

What I have so far:
1. Initially, HOCl is largely undissociated, because ionization is endothermic. However, some dissociates to OCl ion, due to entropy of mixing. The entropy of the products (H+ and OCl-) is potentially greater than that of the reactants, as there a more moles. As such, the energy levels are more closely spaced. However, the ground state of reactants is higher than products.

--> this last point is what I am really struggling with. I known that energy must be in in order to break bonds, but why does this increase ground state? There is a picture of what I mean here: http://www.chem1.com/acad/webtut/thermo/entropy.html

2. Increasing temp, --> increase KE of all particles in solution (this is unfavourable)
--> additional KE converted to PE to break bonds (Le Chateliers principle)
--> as temperature continues to rise, additional energy used to excite particles to higher energy levels (increasing entropy)


I'm really sorry for the novel, but have been researching this for weeks and am still grappling with the details. I would so grateful if anyone could indicate if I am on the right track, or to clarify any of these matters.

Thankyou very much.