Catalysis

Catalysts matter both in the chemical industry and in living organisms: a large share of industrially manufactured chemicals rely on a catalyst to obtain a specific product, and using a catalyst also lowers the reaction temperature needed and cuts energy costs significantly. A catalyst is defined as a substance which, when added to a reacting system, increases the rate of the reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change -- it comes out of the reaction chemically the same as it went in, even though it actively participates while the reaction is occurring. Catalysis is divided into two types depending on whether the catalyst shares a phase with the reactants: homogeneous catalysis (Section 11.7.1), where reactants and catalyst are in the same phase, and heterogeneous catalysis (Section 11.7.2), where they are in different phases. Section 11.7.3 additionally covers inhibitors, substances that have the opposite effect to a catalyst -- they slow a reaction d …