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Usually the true catalyst is an expensive and complex molecule and added in quantities as small as possible. The stoichiometric catalyst on the other hand should be cheap and abundant. [citation needed] "Sacrificial catalysts" are more accurately referred to by their actual role in the catalytic cycle, for example as a reductant.
An illustrative example is the effect of catalysts to speed the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen: . 2 H 2 O 2 → 2 H 2 O + O 2. This reaction proceeds because the reaction products are more stable than the starting compound, but this decomposition is so slow that hydrogen peroxide solutions are commercially available.
The first step in the WGS reaction is the high temperature shift which is carried out at temperatures between 320 °C and 450 °C. As mentioned before, the catalyst is a composition of iron-oxide, Fe 2 O 3 (90-95%), and chromium oxides Cr 2 O 3 (5-10%) which have an ideal activity and selectivity at these temperatures.
These catalysts initiate radical chain reactions, autoxidation that produce organic radicals that combine with oxygen to give hydroperoxide intermediates. Generally the selectivity of oxidation is determined by bond energies. For example, benzylic C-H bonds are replaced by oxygen faster than aromatic C-H bonds. [2]
Synergistic catalysts have been used for a variety of reactions, especially when both substrates require some kind of significant activation either with stoichiometric amounts of an activator or through a separate reaction beforehand. Synergistic catalysts differ from other multi-catalyst systems by the nature that one catalyst activates one ...
Often, substances are intentionally added to the reaction feed or on the catalyst to influence catalytic activity, selectivity, and/or stability. These compounds are called promoters. For example, alumina (Al 2 O 3) is added during ammonia synthesis to providing greater stability by slowing sintering processes on the Fe-catalyst. [2]
In acid catalysis and base catalysis, a chemical reaction is catalyzed by an acid or a base. By Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, the acid is the proton (hydrogen ion, H +) donor and the base is the proton acceptor. Typical reactions catalyzed by proton transfer are esterifications and aldol reactions.
The catalysts used for catalytic distillation are composed of different substances and packed onto varying objects. The majority of the catalysts are powdered acids, bases, metal oxides, or metal halides. These substances tend to be highly reactive which can significantly speed up the rate of the reaction making them effective catalysts. [3]