Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Types of catalysts | Arrhenius equation and reaction mechanisms | Kinetics | Chemistry | Khan Academy
Subjects
KHANacademy
Learner
Types of catalysts
Share
Tweet
Key points
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.
Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts in biochemical reactions.
Common types of catalysts include enzymes, acid-base catalysts, and
heterogeneous (or surface) catalysts.
G at
1/11
5/29/2016
Types of catalysts | Arrhenius equation and reaction mechanisms | Kinetics | Chemistry | Khan Academy
G < 0.
Why don't we give it a try? Find some
food that is nice and sugary, such as
a raisin. Add some oxygen gas (i.e.
hold it out in the air). What happens?
Do you notice a release of heat
energy? The formation of water and a
nice explosive poof of carbon dioxide
gas?
Chances are, the raisin doesn't do
much besides maybe dry out a little
bit more. Even though the oxidation
of glucose is a thermodynamically
favorable reaction, it turns out that the reaction rate is really really really
slow.
The rate of a reaction depends on factors such as:
Activation energy
Temperature: if you heat up the raisin to a high enough temperature, it
will probably catch on re and oxidize
These two factors are closely related: increasing the reaction temperature
of the reaction increases the kinetic energy of the reactant molecules. This
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/chem-kinetics/arrhenius-equation/a/types-of-catalysts
2/11
5/29/2016
Types of catalysts | Arrhenius equation and reaction mechanisms | Kinetics | Chemistry | Khan Academy
increases the likelihood that they will have enough energy to get over the
activation barrier.
How does your body solve this problem for the oxidation of glucose? After
all, your body temperature isn't much higher than 25 C, so how is this
reaction happening continuously in your body?
Biological systems use catalysts to increase the rate of the oxidation
reaction so that it can occur at a faster rate at lower temperatures. in this
article, we will talk more about what a catalyst is, and the dierent types of
catalysts.
What is a catalyst?
Catalysts are substances that can be added to a reaction to increase the
reaction rate without getting consumed in the process. They usually work
by
1. Lowering the energy of the transition state, thus lowering the
activation energy, and/or
2. Changing the mechanism of the reaction. This also changes the nature
(and energy) of the transition state.
Catalysts are everywhere! Many biochemical processes, such as the
oxidation of glucose, are heavily dependent on enzymes, proteins that
behave as catalysts.
Other common kinds of catalysts include acid-base catalysts and
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/chem-kinetics/arrhenius-equation/a/types-of-catalysts
3/11
5/29/2016
Types of catalysts | Arrhenius equation and reaction mechanisms | Kinetics | Chemistry | Khan Academy
CO2 + H2 O H2 CO3
By regulating the concentration of
carbonic acid in the blood and
tissues, the enzyme is able to keep
the pH balanced in the body.
The following diagram shows an energy diagram for the reaction between
carbon dioxide and water to form carbonic acid. The reaction with catalyst
is indicated with a blue line, and the uncatalyzed reaction is indicated with
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/chem-kinetics/arrhenius-equation/a/types-of-catalysts
4/11
5/29/2016
Types of catalysts | Arrhenius equation and reaction mechanisms | Kinetics | Chemistry | Khan Academy
a red line.
without enzyme
Energy
with enzyme
a cti vation
e ne rgy w ith
e nzym e
reactants
a cti vation
e ne rgy w ithout
e nzym e
ove ra ll e ne rgy
re le a se d du ring
re acti on
e.g. CO 2 + H 2O
products
H 2CO 3
Reaction coordinate
The catalyst lowers the energy of the transition state for the reaction. Since
the activation energy is the dierence between the transition state energy
and the reactant energy, lowering the transition state energy also lowers
the activation energy. [How is the reaction rate related to the activation energy?]
Notice that the energies of the reactants and products are the same for the
catalyzed and uncatalyzed reaction. Therefore, the overall energy released
during the reaction, Hrxn , does not change when you add the enzyme.
This emphasizes a very important point: the kinetics of a reaction, i.e.
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/chem-kinetics/arrhenius-equation/a/types-of-catalysts
5/11
5/29/2016
Types of catalysts | Arrhenius equation and reaction mechanisms | Kinetics | Chemistry | Khan Academy
Acid-base catalysis
In acid catalysis, the catalyst is usually a H+ ion. In base catalysis, the
catalyst is usually an OH ion.
An example of a reaction that can be catalyzed by acid is the hydrolysis of
sucrose, also known as table sugar. Sucrose is a combination of two
simpler sugars (or monosaccharides), glucose and fructose. With the
addition of acid or an enzyme such as sucrase, sucrose can be broken
down into glucose and fructose as shown by the following series of
reactions:
6/11
5/29/2016
Types of catalysts | Arrhenius equation and reaction mechanisms | Kinetics | Chemistry | Khan Academy
In the rst step, sucrose reversibly reacts with H+ (in red), to form
protonated sucrose. The protonated sucrose reversibly reacts with water
(in blue) to give H+ , one molecule of glucose, and one molecule of
fructose. The overall reaction can be written as:
acid catalyst
7/11
5/29/2016
Types of catalysts | Arrhenius equation and reaction mechanisms | Kinetics | Chemistry | Khan Academy
Even though the reactants are in the gas phase, the product polymer is
usually a solid. I imagine this reaction being analogous to making popcorn:
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/chem-kinetics/arrhenius-equation/a/types-of-catalysts
8/11
5/29/2016
Types of catalysts | Arrhenius equation and reaction mechanisms | Kinetics | Chemistry | Khan Academy
the unpopped corn kernel is the catalyst on the solid support. The gaseous
monomers react to form layers of solid product polymer that build up on
the surface of the catalyst, which eventually becomes a polymer "popcorn"
bead. Chemistryit's like magic!
Summary
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.
Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts in biochemical reactions.
Common types of catalysts include enzymes, acid-base catalysts, and
heterogeneous (or surface) catalysts.
[Attributions and references]
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/chem-kinetics/arrhenius-equation/a/types-of-catalysts
9/11