Surface of a heterogeneous catalyst vs homogeneous catalyst

[Madison Yang 1L]

The textbook gives a very detailed explanation of how heterogeneous catalysts work in the case of catalytic converters, and it emphasizes that the surfaces of these catalysts allow the pollutant gas molecules to be held in place until they can be converted into less toxic compounds (like CO --> CO2). If a homogeneous catalyst, say in liquid phase, doesn't have such a surface, then how does it help speed up the rate of reaction?

[Nadia Nichol]

Homogeneous catalysts are what they sound like, they should be evenly with the reactants in a solution. The mode in which they work to speed up reactions is by interacting directly with the reactant molecules, which makes it easier for them to transform into products. Differently, heterogeneous catalysts don't rely on surface interactions; they work throughout the solution to lower the energy needed for the reaction to happen.