A catalyst increases the rate of a chemical reaction without undergoing any permanent change itself. The catalyst is not used up in the reaction.The catalyst may react with a reactant to form an intermediate which then either breaks down or reacts with another reactant to form the products.
e.g.reactant1 + catalyst → intermediateintermediate + reactant2 → product + catalystThe catalyst may provide a surface on which the reaction can take part.At the end of the reaction the catalyst is regenerated.A catalyst increases the rates of a chemical reaction by providing an alternative reaction pathway which has lower activation energy.
e.g.reactant1 + catalyst → intermediateintermediate + reactant2 → product + catalystThe catalyst may provide a surface on which the reaction can take part.At the end of the reaction the catalyst is regenerated.A catalyst increases the rates of a chemical reaction by providing an alternative reaction pathway which has lower activation energy.