catalyst

catalyst
/kat"l ist/, n.
1. Chem. a substance that causes or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected.
2. something that causes activity between two or more persons or forces without itself being affected.
3. a person or thing that precipitates an event or change: His imprisonment by the government served as the catalyst that helped transform social unrest into revolution.
4. a person whose talk, enthusiasm, or energy causes others to be more friendly, enthusiastic, or energetic.
[1900-05; CATALY(SIS) + (-I)ST]

* * *

Any substance of which a small proportion notably affects the reaction rate of a chemical reaction without itself being changed or consumed (see catalysis).

One molecule may transform several million reactant molecules a minute. Catalysts may be gaseous, liquid, or solid; they may be inorganic compounds, organic compounds, or complex combinations. They tend to be highly specific, reacting with only one substance or a small set of substances. Substances that reduce the effectiveness of catalysts by altering them or blocking reactants' access to them are called catalyst inhibitors or catalyst poisons. Catalysts are essential to virtually all industrial chemical reactions, especially in petroleum refining and synthetic organic chemical manufacturing. Most solid catalysts are transition elements (metals) or their oxides in finely divided or porous form. In a car's catalytic converter, the platinum catalyst converts unburned hydrocarbons and nitrogen compounds to products less harmful to the environment. Water, especially saltwater, catalyzes oxidation (see oxidation-reduction) and corrosion. Enzymes are among the most active and selective catalysts known.

* * *

 in chemistry, any substance that increases the rate of a reaction without itself being consumed. Enzymes are naturally occurring catalysts responsible for many essential biochemical reactions.

      Most solid catalysts are metals or the oxides, sulfides, and halides of metallic elements and of the semimetallic elements boron, aluminum, and silicon. Gaseous and liquid catalysts are commonly used in their pure form or in combination with suitable carriers or solvents; solid catalysts are commonly dispersed in other substances known as catalyst supports.

      In general, catalytic action is a chemical reaction between the catalyst and a reactant, forming chemical intermediates that are able to react more readily with each other or with another reactant, to form the desired end product. During the reaction between the chemical intermediates and the reactants, the catalyst is regenerated. The modes of reactions between the catalysts and the reactants vary widely and in solid catalysts are often complex. Typical of these reactions are acid–base reactions, oxidation–reduction reactions, formation of coordination complexes, and formation of free radicals. With solid catalysts the reaction mechanism is strongly influenced by surface properties and electronic or crystal structures. Certain solid catalysts, called polyfunctional catalysts, are capable of more than one mode of interaction with the reactants; bifunctional catalysts are used extensively for reforming reactions in the petroleum industry.

       Catalytic processes and their catalystsCatalyzed reactions form the basis of many industrial chemical processes. Catalyst manufacture is itself a rapidly growing industrial process. Some typical catalytic processes with their corresponding catalysts are given in the Table (Catalytic processes and their catalysts).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • catalyst — UK US /ˈkætəlɪst/ noun [C] ► someone or something that causes a big change: the catalyst behind sth »The catalyst behind this welcome trend has been the mighty Bill Gates. catalyst for sth »An outside leader is often needed to serve as a catalyst …   Financial and business terms

  • catalyst — n. 1. (Chem.) a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected; as, thousands of enzymes serve in concert as calaysts to produce the sequence of reactions we call life ; the industrial production of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Catalyst — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Catalyst puede referirse a: Catalyst (controladores) Catalyst (framework) Catalyst (álbum) de New Found Glory Obtenido de Catalyst Categoría: Wikipedia:Desambiguación …   Wikipedia Español

  • Catalyst — (englisch für Katalysator) steht für: ein Gerätetreiber Paket für Radeon Grafikkarten, siehe AMD Catalyst ein in Perl geschriebenes MVC Web Framework, siehe Catalyst Web Framework eine Produktbezeichnung für eine Serie von Ethernet Switches der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Catalyst — Catalyst. См. Катализатор. (Источник: «Металлы и сплавы. Справочник.» Под редакцией Ю.П. Солнцева; НПО Профессионал , НПО Мир и семья ; Санкт Петербург, 2003 г.) …   Словарь металлургических терминов

  • catalyst — I noun abettor, activator, active element, active partisan, active reformer, actuator, agacerie, agent provocateur, agitator, animator, catalytic agent, cause, encouragement, encourager, excitant, exciter, ferment, force, goad, impeller, impetus …   Law dictionary

  • catalyst — (n.) 1902, formed in English (on analogy of analyst) from CATALYSIS (Cf. catalysis) …   Etymology dictionary

  • catalyst — [n] something which incites activity adjuvant, agitator, enzyme, goad, impetus, impulse, incendiary, incentive, incitation, incitement, motivation, radical stimulus, reactant, reactionary, spark plug*, spur, stimulant, synergist, wave maker*;… …   New thesaurus

  • catalyst — ► NOUN 1) a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change. 2) a person or thing that precipitates an event …   English terms dictionary

  • catalyst — [kat′ə list΄] n. 1. any substance serving as the agent in catalysis 2. a person or thing acting as the stimulus in bringing about or hastening a result catalytic [kat′əlit′ik] adj. catalytically adv …   English World dictionary

  • Catalyst — Это статья о веб фреймворке. О наборе системного ПО AMD/ATI см. ATI Catalyst. Catalyst Тип Программный каркас для создания веб приложений Разработчики Jonathan Rockway, David Kamholz, Brian Cassidy, Yuval Kogman, Matt S. Trout, Jesse Sheidlower,… …   Википедия

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”