Catalysts: How Reaction Rate Is

Affected
 Objectives

• At the end of the lesson, you should be able to define

catalyst and describe how it affects the reaction rate.
 Reaction rate
• is the change in the concentration of reactant or product
per unit of time.
• In the previous lesson, you have learned that the
concentration of reactants, temperature, and particle size
are factors affecting the reaction rate.
• In this lesson, you will learn about the catalyst, which is
another factor affecting the rate of a chemical reaction.
• What is a catalyst?
• How does it affect reaction rates?
 CATALYST
• is a substance that increases the reaction rate without
being consumed by the reaction. It provides a new
pathway for the reaction, one which has a lower activation
energy.
EXAMPLE
The way to get from points A to B is to go
around the cliff following the red path. It
Consider the points A and B separated by a would take a lot of time and energy to reach
cliff. point B.
What happens when a bridge is built
between points A and B?
The path from Point A to B is shorter so it
would take less time to reach point B. In
addition, there is less energy required to
reach point B.

• Similarly, in chemical
reactions, reactants (A)
are combined to form
products (B).
For uncatalyzed reactions (red path), the time it takes for the reaction to be
completed is relatively longer. However, for catalyzed reactions, the catalysts
(bridge) speed up the reaction by providing an alternate path with less required
energy for reactants to turn into products.
 Mechanism of Catalysis
A catalyzed reaction often involves a series of steps.
1. Bonding – The catalyst forms a bond with the reacting
molecules.
2. Reaction – The reacting molecules combine or
rearrange to form the product.
3. Separation – The product separates from the catalyst.

After separation, the catalyst is free again to form a bond

with other reacting molecules.
Energy Diagram of a Catalyzed Reaction
 Types of Catalysts
• A homogeneous catalyst exists in the same phase as
the reaction it catalyzes. It is often in gas or liquid phase. .
• A heterogeneous catalyst exists in a different phase as
the reaction it catalyzes. It often involves gaseous
reactant molecules being adsorbed on a solid catalyst
surface.
 homogeneous catalyst
Example : the decomposition of ozone in the atmosphere is
catalyzed by chlorine atoms

The chlorine atom is a catalyst that is

regenerated at the end of the reaction.
 heterogeneous catalyst
Example: gaseous ethylene is
hydrogenated to form ethane in the
presence of a palladium catalyst.
 Enzymes
• are homogeneous, highly specific, and efficient biological
catalysts.
• They speed up biological reactions even at relatively low
temperatures within the body.
• They have a shape-specific active site that forms bonds
with the reacting molecules called substrates. The
substrates react and form the product, which then
detaches from the catalyst.
 Example
• An example of an enzyme is
sucrase, which catalyzes the
hydrolysis of sucrose to glucose and
fructose following the steps:
1. the binding between the enzyme
sucrase and the substrate sucrose.
2. the presence of water hydrolyzes or
breaks sucrose into glucose and
fructose.
3. the release of the products.
4. the active site of the sucrase is
available for another molecule of
sucrose.
Tips
 References
• https://link.quipper.com/en/organizations/547ffd20d2b76d
0002002d5d/curriculum#curriculum