1 Definition of catalyst, type of catalyst & catalyses.

6.2 Characteristics of catalytic reaction.

6.3 Theory of Catalyses & mechanism of catalyses.

Catalyst: Catalysts are substances that can be added to a reaction to increase the reaction rate
without getting consumed in the process. Catalysts speed up a reaction by by Lowering the
energy of the transition state and thus reducing the activation energy or changing the
mechanism of the reaction mechanism. Many biochemical processes, such as the oxidation of
glucose, are heavily dependent on enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that behave as catalysts. –
Other common kinds of catalyst sinclude acid base, catalysts and heterogenous (or surface
catalysts.

Catalyses: the process of adding catalyst to increase the rate of reaction is called catalyses.
In general, chemical reactions occur faster in the presence of a catalyst because the catalyst
provides an alternative reaction pathway with lower activation energy than the non-catalyzed
mechanism.

Characteristics of catalyst:
 A catalyst is a substance that can be added to a reaction to increase the reaction rate without
getting consumed in the process.
 Catalysts typically speed up a reaction by reducing the activation energy or changing the
reaction mechanism.
 A small quantity of catalyst should be able to affect the rate of reaction for a large amount
of reactant.

 Catalysts do not change the equilibrium constant for the reaction.

 Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts in biochemical reactions.

 Common types of catalysts include enzymes , acid-base catalysts,
and heterogeneous (or surface) catalysts.

Types of catalyst

Catalysts may be divided into two main types

Homogeneous Catalysts: A homogeneous catalyst is one whose molecules are dispersed in the same phase
(usually gaseous or liquid) as the reactant's molecules. The catalyst is in same phase

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Heterogeneous Catalysts: A heterogeneous catalyst is one whose molecules are not in the same phase as the
reactant's, which are typically gases or liquids that are adsorbed onto the surface of the solid catalyst. The
catalyst is in different phase as the reactants.

Enzymes and other biocatalysts are often considered as a third category.

Theories of catalyses: Many theories a are proposed to explain the mechanism of catalysis:
Lock & Key theory: This enzyme mechanism is also called the induced fit model. This model
proposes that the binding of the reactant, or substrate, to the enzyme active site results in a
conformational change to the enzyme. This change stabilizes the transition state complex, and
thus lowers the activation energy. And bring out the chem. Ical reaction.

As for every lock there is only one key , the same for every one substrate there is a particular
catalyst.

(i) Intermediate compound formulation theory: According to this theory one of the reactants combines with
catalyst to form intermediate product, which further react with second reactant to complete the reaction. The
catalyst separates after formation of product.

E.g.

where A and B are reactants, C is the catalyst and AC is the intermediate product.

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(ii) Adsorption theory: According to this theory, reactants are adsorbed on the surface of the catalyst and form a
film. Due to high concentration of the reactants on the surface film, reaction proceeds at a faster rate.

(iii) Modern adsorption theory: According to this theory, reactants are adsorbed at the active centers i.e. free
valencies etc. on the solid surface of catalyst and form activated complex which under strain forms new molecules
and leaves the surface. That’s why the finely divided catalyst has greater activity.

(iv) Energy activation theory: According to this theory, catalyst changes the value of activation energy which
can be crossed by the reactants easily and consequently products are formed.

Mechanism of catalysis

For chemicals to react, their bonds must be rearranged, because the bonds in the products are
different from those in the reactants. The slowest step in the bond rearrangement produces
a transition state - a chemical species that is neither a reactant nor a product, but is an
intermediate stage between the two.

Reactant ⇄ Transition State ⇄ Product

Energy is required to form the transition state. This energy is called the activation energy,
or Ea. The diagram below from left to right shows the progress of a reaction as reactants pass
through the transition state to become products.

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The activation energy for the forward reaction is the amount of free energy that must be added
to go from the energy level of the reactants to the energy level of the transition state. The
source of activation energy is typically heat, with reactant molecules absorbing
thermal energy from their surroundings. So activation energy is the minimum energy that is
required for the reaction to occur.

The activation energy of a particular reaction determines the rate at which it will proceed. The
higher the activation energy, the slower the chemical reaction will be. The example of iron
rusting illustrates an inherently slow reaction. This reaction occurs slowly over time because of
its high EA. Additionally, the burning of many fuels, which is strongly exergonic, will take
place at a negligible rate unless their activation energy is overcome by sufficient heat from a
spark.

The activation energy can be thought of as a barrier to a chemical reaction, a hurdle that must
be crossed. If the barrier is high, few molecules have sufficient kinetic energy to collide, form a
transition state, and cross the barrier. Reactants with energy lower than E a cannot pass through
the transition state to react and become products.

A catalyst works by providing a different route, with lower E a, for the reaction. Catalysts lower
the energy barrier. The different route allows the bond rearrangements needed to convert
reactants to products to take place more easily, with a lower energy input. In any given time
interval, the presence of a catalyst allows a greater proportion of the reactant species to pick up
sufficient energy to pass through the transition state and become products.

Example1: The Haber Process

The Haber process, which is used to make ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen, is catalyzed
by iron, which provides atomic sites on which the reactant bonds can rearrange more easily to
form the transition state.

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N2 (gas) + 3H2 (gas) ⇌ 2NH3 (gas)
Example 2: Enzymes
In our bodies, and in other living things, enzymes are used to speed up biochemical reactions.
An enzyme is a type of catalyst. Complex life would be impossible without enzymes to allow
reactions to take place at suitable speeds. The shapes of enzymes along with locations on the
enzyme that bind to the reactants provide an alternative reaction pathway, allowing specific
molecules to come together to form a transition state with a reduced activation energy barrier.

In the schematic below, the long chain enzyme provides sites for reactant molecules to come
together to form a transition state with a low activation energy.

Catalysts cannot shift the position of a chemical equilibrium - the forward and backward
reactions are both accelerated so that the equilibrium constant Keq is unchanged. However, by
removing products from the reaction mixture as they form, the overall rate of product
formation can in practice be increased.