In this blog post, we will take an easy and interesting look at catalysts, which are important factors that determine the speed of chemical reactions.
Time is limited, and it is everyone’s desire and goal to accomplish as much as possible during that time. It is also possible to demonstrate competitiveness by making this possible. In chemical reactions, there are substances that help make this possible. These substances are called catalysts. How exactly do catalysts help chemical reactions occur more quickly? In fact, a catalyst is not a single substance but a term used to describe substances that have such an effect. This means that the type of catalyst can vary depending on the reaction. Let’s explain the reaction principle of catalysts.
All reactions require activation energy to proceed. Activation energy is the minimum energy required to activate a reaction. Catalysts lower this activation energy, allowing the reaction to occur with less energy than the original reaction. This accelerates the reaction rate. This is similar to how a car can travel farther on a smooth, well-paved road than on a bumpy mountain road with the same amount of energy.
Catalysts also have a fascinating reaction structure. They are most often compared to locks and keys. Catalysts have unique shapes, like keys, and just as each key fits only one lock, each catalyst acts on only one substrate. They play the role of opening the substrate to make the reaction easier.
Just as a key can open a lock repeatedly without wearing out, a catalyst accelerates the chemical reaction speed without sacrificing itself or being consumed. The chemical reaction speed generally increases with temperature, but since the room temperature we live in is actually very low, many chemical reactions occur slowly.
For example, about 100 years ago, there were no chemical fertilizers applied externally. This was because the production rate of ammonia, an important component, was very slow under Earth’s temperature and pressure conditions. As a result, agricultural production was significantly lower than today, leading to widespread famine. At that time, a scientist named Fritz Haber developed a method using catalysts and reaction rates to synthesize ammonia (NH₃) by combining nitrogen (N₂) and hydrogen (H₂) from the air, enabling the rapid production of ammonia. This achievement not only solved the problem of starvation for humanity but also earned him the honorable nickname “the scientist who turned air into bread.”
In this way, catalysts have had a significant impact on improving the quality of human life. Catalysts are used in various industrial fields and are deeply embedded in our daily lives. For example, catalytic converters are used to reduce exhaust emissions from automobiles, playing an important role in environmental protection. Additionally, catalysts are essential in the production of pharmaceuticals, enabling efficient and economical production.
Although catalysts play important roles in various fields, finding the optimal catalyst for many chemical reactions remains a major challenge. Each chemical reaction requires a unique catalyst, and research to identify these catalysts is actively underway. In the future, developing effective catalysts for more reactions will provide optimized solutions that balance economic and environmental considerations.
Catalysts help chemical reactions occur more quickly by lowering the activation energy required for the reaction without being consumed themselves. Catalysts have a significant impact on our lives, influencing the clothes we wear, the food we eat, and the tools we use. However, there are limitations to finding catalysts that can act in every chemical reaction. Therefore, understanding the principles of each chemical reaction and identifying catalysts that are economically and environmentally optimized will remain a major challenge in the future. In this sense, catalysts will continue to present us with challenges, like an endless wellspring, and we will strive to solve them.
As such, catalysts play a crucial role in all aspects of our lives, and their importance will continue to grow in the future. Innovative catalyst research will be the key to a sustainable and efficient future. Therefore, we must fully harness the potential of catalysts to create a better world.
