catalyst

[705121606]

How can we differentiate a catalyst and an intermediate in the reaction if they both cancel out and don't end up in the overall reaction?

[Bella Townsend]

I have this question as well.

[Aman Sankineni 2L]

Catalysts are present as reactants in the very beginning and products at the end. Intermediates, on the other hand, are not present in the initial reaction but are produced within one of the steps and then consumed within another step. Also, catalysts are used throughout the reaction. So according to my understanding, catalysts appear in the reaction as a reactant, but also appear during the elementary steps of the reaction.

[Viviana Velasquez]

I think it has to do with the catalyst reacting (being a reactant) in the first step and being a product for the next step. An intermediate would begin as a product in the Step 1 or your first reaction. They both don't show up in the final equation.

[Robert Tran 1B]

A catalyst changes the intermediates of a reaction so that the mechanism has a lower activation energy.