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:  Ozone again!
:  Just say "NO" Pt and methane
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Exactly what some
catalysts do is not always well understood. Many are thought to
participate in the formation of unique intermediate species with
lower collision energy requirements. Such behavior is typical of
homogeneous catalysts. Others, such as contact or surface
catalysts (heterogeneous catalysts) possess some unique ability
to adsorb and alter molecules at their surface so that their
reaction is facilitated in some way. Research on catalysts is important and ongoing since some chemical processes which might be otherwise useful are slow, despite their thermodynamic potential. And that is just another reason why an understanding of kinetics is an important part of understanding chemical reactions. |
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In our
experiment on factors which affect the rates of reactions we saw
that a few reactions actually produce their own catalysts!