Catalysts in Reaction Mechanisms

[Malia Rose 1C]

Hi, does anyone know if catalysts are part of reaction mechanisms and if we're expected to verify reaction mechanisms on the final? Catalysts are like intermediates except they are consumed and then recreated yet not in the overall reaction, right? Thank you!

[Alysha Dijamco 3E]

Hello,

A catalyst is a substance that speeds up the rate of the reaction by providing an alternative pathway between the reactants and the products. However, it does not have any effect on the equilibrium constant. A catalyst will appear in the steps of reaction methods, but it will not appear on the overall chemical reaction because it is neither a reactant nor a product. Catalysts are not like intermediates because they are formed during a reaction whereas a catalysts is present from the start of the reaction. However, it is true that they both do not appear in the overall reaction. I hope this helps!

[Tiffany Ngan 1K]

A catalyst can lower the activation energy for a reaction by orienting the reacting particles in such a way that successful collisions are more likely or reacting with the reactants to form an intermediate that requires lower energy to form the product. Because catalysts are neither created nor destroyed, they are identified as reactants that are likely used as a reactant to create an intermediate and then consumed in the following steps. They do not show up in the overall reaction. A reaction intermediate is a molecular unit generated from reactants that interacts further to produce the immediately seen products of a chemical reaction. So although both are not included in the final overall reaction, catalysts are often found as the reactant in the 1 step to speed up the overall reaction by creating intermediates to allow the production of the product in the steps of the chemical reaction.

[Nina Chessa 2A]

Catalysts are substances that speed up a reaction by increasing the rate of reaction. These substances are neither reactants or products, so they do not appear in the overall chemical reaction and cannot appear in the overall rate law. This means the amount of catalyst, the concentration of it, generally does not affect the rate of the reaction. For the final, I would be prepared to be able to verify reaction mechanisms. To do this, you need to ensure that the rate law of the given reaction mechanism matches the overall rate law. You must ensure the stoichiometry of the steps gives the stoichiometry of the overall reaction when the steps are summed. By doing this, you are proving the plausibility of the proposed reaction mechanism.

Catalysts are not consumed during reactions, so they differ in this way from intermediates. neither catalysts nor intermediates should appear in overall rate laws.

[705801855]

Catalysts increase the rate of a chemical reaction by providing an alternative pathway with lower activation energy. They are not reactants or products, so they do not appear in the overall chemical reaction and cannot appear in the overall rate law, and they can be reused (because they are not used up in the chemical reaction).