what is the role of a catalyst in a chemical reaction?
A catalyst speeds up a chemical reaction by providing an alternate reaction pathway with a lower activation energy. Since the activation energy is lower, more product will be formed in the same amount of time.
A catalyst speeds up a chemical reaction by providing an alternate reaction pathway with a lower activation energy. Since the activation energy is lower, more product will be formed in the same amount of time. Chemists used to assume that a catalyst somehow sped up a reaction without being consumed in the reaction. We now know that a catalyst will be a reactant in one step of a reaction mechanism, and will be a product in a subsequent step in the mechanism, so that it **appears** that the catalyst does not take part in the reaction. ======== Follow up ========= Remember, it is customary to cite one's sources when quoting from another source or when simply copying large passages from Wikipedia or some other web page.
It increases the rate of reaction by lowering the requirement of energy needed to carry out the chemical reaction. Hope that helped.
A catalyst is used to speed up a chemical reaction. It is not consumed during the reaction.
