According to this theory, molecules like glucose are metabolized to develop acetyl CoA in the form of an intermediate that is energy - rich. The proper oxidation of acetyl CoA occurs in the mitochondrial matrix and is combined to the reduced form of a carrier molecule namely FAD and NAD. The carriers then supply electrons to the transport chain of the electron in the inner membrane of mitochondria, which further supply them to different other proteins present in the ETC.
The energy present in the electrons is basically used to pump out protons from the matrix in the inner mitochondrial membrane. It is used for energy storage in the form of a transmembrane electrochemical gradient. The protons return to the inner membrane by the ATP enzyme synthase. The proton - flow travels into the matrix of mitochondria through ATP synthase, which gets a good amount of energy for the ADP to integrate with inorganic phosphate to produce ATP.
