The limiting reactant is the reactant that is entirely consumed in a chemical reaction, thereby limiting the amount of product that can be formed. Increasing the amount of the limiting reactant will not result in a higher percent yield because there will still be an insufficient amount of the other reactant(s) to react with the excess of the limiting reactant. The percent yield is determined by the amount of product obtained relative to the theoretical maximum amount of product that could be formed based on the balanced chemical equation. To increase the percent yield, the relative amounts of the reactants need to be adjusted so that all reactants are present in stoichiometrically correct proportions or the reaction conditions need to be optimized.
