Catalyst

[Brandon_Goenawan2O]

Hello,

I am a little uncertain about catalysts and rate laws. I understand they do not alter the rate constant in a zero order reaction as seen in the course reader but do they affect rate laws in higher orders?
Thanks in advance.

[Chem_Mod]

Yes, catalysts should affect the rate of a reaction. Catalysts speed up the reaction by lowering the activation energy of that reaction. As shown by the Arrhenius equation, lowering the activation energy increases the rate constant, k.

[Wenqian_Deng_1L]

Does changing the temperature also affect the catalyst, which then affects the activation energy and the rate constant?

[Milan M]

Increasing temperature will increase the rate of reaction with catalysts, but up to a point. At around 40 degrees C, some enzymes will denature and no longer be able to catalyze.