Describe how you can achieve negative free energy in a chemical reaction.

Is it because it releases free energy?

By breaking chemical bonds. Any exothermic reaction has negative free energy.

Negative free energy in a chemical reaction is not possible in the ordinary sense, as it would violate the fundamental principles of thermodynamics. According to the second law of thermodynamics, the free energy of a closed system can never decrease over time.

The free energy change in a chemical reaction (ΔG) is a measure of the energy available to do work. It determines whether a reaction is spontaneous or not. If ΔG is negative, the reaction is spontaneous and releases energy; if ΔG is positive, the reaction is non-spontaneous and requires an input of energy.

However, there are circumstances where a system can appear to have negative free energy. One example is when a reaction is coupled with an exothermic process. By harnessing the energy released from the exothermic process, it is possible to drive a non-spontaneous reaction to occur. This is known as coupling reactions.

For example, in biological systems, the energy released from the hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is coupled with various energy-requiring processes to drive them forward. Technically, the ΔG of the ATP hydrolysis reaction is negative, providing the necessary energy to drive other reactions that might need an input of energy.

So, while negative free energy itself cannot be achieved in a chemical reaction, it is possible to harness energy from one reaction to drive another reaction, resulting in an apparent negative free energy change and making the overall process spontaneous.