This obeys to the theory of absolute reaction rates or transition state theory, developed by Henry Eyring in the 1930s. This is a theory of chemical kinetics according to which the velocity of a chemical reaction is proportional to the concentration of and activated complex that is formed from the reactants. The reactants must be activated by means of an activation energy to form the activated complex before they can be converted into products. The activated complex is a transient state; an unstable complex held together by weak bonds. Therefore, the activation energy, according to this theory, is crucial to form the activation complex to be converted into products.
A catalyst enables more particles to reach the activation energy and to take part in the reaction. Therefore the speed of the reaction increases.
Adding a catalyst will make the reaction happen faster because the catalyst makes the Activation Energy (the energy required for the reaction to take place) to lower. Meaning more molecules can acquire this lower number of energy. A chemical reaction that involves a catalyst is a special type. A catalyst, in a given chemical reaction, is something that is both an input *and* an output of the reaction equation. What that means, practically, is that a small amount of catalyst is enough to process any amount of the other inputs. (More catalyst means that a given amount will be processed faster.)
The overall enthalpy change in a common reaction would not change. Only the path to get there would change. A catalyst basically lessens the activation energy required to get the reaction to take place.
Lowers the activation energy of a reaction, therefore speeding the reaction up.Catalysts speed up chemical reactions. They do not change the products or reactants of the reaction, and are not used up or consumed in the reaction. Biological catalysts are called enzymes. Catalysts lower the activation energy (or energy needed to start a reaction), and cause the reaction to occur more quickly.
A catalyst speeds up reactions by lowering the activation energy required for the reaction to occur. The concentration of the catalyst does not change and it is neither part of the reactants nor products; it is an intermediate.
Activation energy. Pg 112 of the living world by Johnson and losos
In chemistry, they can work by adsorption (although there are other methods). This is when the catalyst attaches itself to the reactant particles and then weakens the bond between them, making it easier to react, thus 'lowering the activation energy' (the energy required for a reaction to start).
* Reactants: the initial compounds in a chemical reaction. * Products: the final compounds in a chemical reaction. * Catalyst: a chemical compound which help the chemical reaction but not react with the other compounds.
Catalysts are very effective and economical in industrial area. Catalysts increase the rate of a reaction by reducing the activation energy of the reaction. activation energy is the overall energy needed for a reaction to initiate. Both reactions such as exothermic or endothermic has activation energy, so we need to overcome the activation energy for the reaction to proceed. Actually the way it works is quiet simple, it absorbs the reactant particles on its surface reducing their bond energy. When the energy between bonds is weaker, its easier for reactant particle to change to products. Activation energy comes from when reactant particles collide with each other with high kinetic energy.
An endothermic reaction would not necessarily have either a high or low activation energy; it could be either and would depend on the reactants. Also, the activation energy alone does not determine if a reaction is endothermic or exothermic; a low or high activation energy could be part of an endothermic or exothermic reaction, again depending on the reactants.
An endothermic reaction would not necessarily have either a high or low activation energy; it could be either and would depend on the reactants. Also, the activation energy alone does not determine if a reaction is endothermic or exothermic; a low or high activation energy could be part of an endothermic or exothermic reaction, again depending on the reactants.
A catalyst speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction.