Chemistry of Walter Mitty's negative developer/stop bath/fixer?
basics here: http://science.csustan.edu/nhuy/chem1002/photoexp.htm

In depth: there are many good books about the chemistry of photography, starting with this 120-year old classic:
https://archive.org/details/chemistryphotog02meldgoog
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Here is another that's fully available online and recent enough to cover every major aspect of the subject:
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5953553M/Photographic_chemistry_in_black-and-white_and_color_photography

You can buy more recent books, especially for developments in color.