 The electron transport chain comprises an enzymatic series of electron donors and acceptors.Each electron donor will pass electrons to a more electronegative acceptor, which in turn donates these electrons to another acceptor, a process that continues down the series until electrons are passed to oxygen, the most electronegative and terminal electron acceptor in the chain.Passage of electrons between donor and acceptor releases energy, which is used to generate a proton gradient across the mitochondrial membrane by "pumping" protons into the intermembrane space, producing a thermodynamic state that has the potential to do work.