Multiple Catalysts

[Cylin Wang 2H]

Hello,

Is it possible to have multiple catalysts for 1 reaction? For example, for there to be catalyst1 to catalyze 1 step and another catalyst2 (present in the environment from the start) to catalyze a later step in the same reaction?

Thank you

[Caleb Kim 1K]

Yes, it is definitely possible for a single chemical reaction to involve multiple catalysts. In fact, many complex reactions in nature and in industry rely on multiple catalysts working together to efficiently convert reactants into products.It is certainly possible for one catalyst to facilitate one step of the reaction, while another catalyst present in the reaction environment from the start could catalyze a later step in the same reaction. The multiple catalysts can work sequentially or cooperatively to enhance the reaction rate or selectivity, or they can work independently on different steps of the reaction mechanism. Hope this helps!

[jenna bonzi 1I]

Yes! This is called cooperative catalysis, where two catalysts are used to develop products faster.

[Cylin Wang 2H]

Yes! This is called cooperative catalysis, where two catalysts are used to develop products faster.

Hello,

Does the textbook contain any examples of this? It seems really interesting and I'm curious about what the chemical equations look like.

[Cylin Wang 2H]

Got it, thank you!

So it is safe to say, catalysts could be not only reaction-specific but also specific to one step in a reaction.

Since each time a catalyst is involved, it introduces a new pathway, a drawing of E(reactant) vs E(product) could look something like this (attached below).

Could someone please double check it?

[Moselle Stieler 3A]

I never really would have considered this but it makes total sense that there could be more than one catalyst. Its interesting to consider the way this would function in a real life example, as mentioned previously sequentially or cooperatively. Would the effect just be stacked together to significantly reduce the activation energy?