A catalyst (Greek: καταλύτης, catalytēs) is a substance that accelerates the rate (speed) of a chemical reaction (see also catalysis). Chemical catalysts, the focus of this article, participate in reactions but are neither chemical reactants nor chemical products. More generally, one may sometimes call anything which accelerates a reaction without itself being consumed or transformed a catalyst (for example, a "catalyst for political change").
Catalyst - Catalysts and reaction energetics.
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Catalysts enable reactions to occur much faster or at lower temperatures because of changes that they induce in the reactants. Catalysts provide an alternative pathway of lower activation energy, for a reaction to proceed whilst remaining chemically unchanged themselves. This can be observed on a Boltzmann distribution and energy profile diagram. This means that catalysts reduce the amount of energy needed to start a chemical reaction. Molecules that would not have had the energy to react or that have such low energies that they probably wou ...
Catalysts can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. Heterogeneous catalysts are present in different phases from the reactants (e.g. a solid catalyst in a liquid reaction mixture), whereas homogenous catalysts are in the same phase (e.g. a dissolved catalyst in a liquid reaction mixture). A simple model for heterogeneous catalysis involves the catalyst providing a surface on which the reactants (or substrates) temporarily become adsorbed. Bonds in the substrate become weakened sufficiently for new to be created. The bonds between the products and the cat ...
