Chapter 9 - Pathways That Harvest Chemical Energy - 9.3 - Oxidative Phosphorylation Forms ATP - 9.3 Recap - Learning Outcomes - Page 184: 1

The carriers of the transport chain pick up free energy when they are reduced and release free energy when they are oxidized. The H+ concentration in the inter-membrane space is higher than within the mitochondrial matrix, so diffusion of those protons across the membrane is coupled with the formation of ATP. As a result, the energy originally contained in organic fuel molecules is kept as ATP.

The carriers of the transport chain pick up free energy when they are reduced and release free energy when they are oxidized. The H+ concentration in the inter-membrane space is higher than within the mitochondrial matrix, so diffusion of those protons across the membrane is coupled with the formation of ATP. As a result, the energy originally contained in organic fuel molecules is kept as ATP.