= Respiratory uncoupling
<Respiratory uncoupling> allows <proton> return to bypass <ATP synthase>, dissipating the <electrochemical gradient>. <Electron> transport and <oxygen> consumption can continue while less <ATP> is recovered.<Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th edition by Bruce Alberts and others>[Chapter 14, Electron-Transport Chains and Their Proton Pumps, H+ Ionophores Uncouple Electron Transport from ATP Synthesis]{ref}
In the thermodynamic example under <chemiosmosis>, reducing both the activity ratio to one and the <electric potential> difference to zero removes the driving contribution. The hypothetical <ATP>-forming conversion then costs $+45\,\mathrm{kJ\,mol^{-1}}$. Continued donor <oxidation> would not restore coupling unless it rebuilt a usable <electrochemical gradient>. This distinction makes <respiratory uncoupling> useful conceptually: abundant <oxygen> consumption can coexist with poor recovery of <ATP>.
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