Catalysis and catalysts - Essay Example

With this introduction, this essay will demonstrate how catalysts speed up reactions, explain how they work by using the enthalpy reaction profiles, and demonstrate the difference between the heterogeneous and homogenous catalysts and showing examples (Bruice, 2007). A reaction can be sped up by a catalyst since they offer an optional route for the reactions to happen. They lessen the necessary reaction energy for the reactants to create products, therefore, atoms; at any given time will have the necessary energy for activation in order for the products to form.

This principle is based on the collision particle theory (Gates, 1992) Reactant molecules interaction with catalysts to provide other routes for the response that connects a lower activation as compared to that of the non-catalyzed reactions. Many of the molecules that interact have energies that are bigger as compared to the lower enthalpy activation. Many of the collisions therefore end in a successful reaction and the conversion rates of reactant to product are enhanced and this demonstrates how catalysts function through enthalpy profiles (McNaught and Wilkinson, 1997) The two main groups of catalysts are homogeneous and heterogeneous.

The catalyst in a heterogeneous reaction is in a diverse state as compared to the reactant. Catalyst in a homogeneous reaction is in a similar state as the reactant(Bell, 1973). This is pointless, in practice, because ethane that is extremely useful is being converted to ethane that is relatively useless. The same reaction however will occur with any compound having a double bond of carbon-carbon. In the vegetable oils hydrogenation one of the vital industrial applications is in its use in making margarine that also entails carbon-carbon double bond reaction in the vegetable oil with a nickel catalyst having a hydrogen presence.

Hydrogen is created as before a link with the carbon, and that eventually also ends up breaking free. On the nickel’s surface