By Angela Huang
Introduction
Every day, catalysts are hard at work. You won’t be able to see it, but all around you, catalysts are working overtime to make sure your body is performing the necessary functions to keep you happy and healthy. For example, they act when your body is digesting and breaking down food.
History of Catalysts
Elizabeth Fulhame developed a theoretical foundation for catalysts in the late 1700s and early 1800s. However, most of the credit for catalysts goes towards Jons Jacob Berzelius. Berzelius coined the term “catalysis,” basing his discovery on experiments with hydrogen and oxygen gases. He found that platinum led the gases to react faster than if the gases were together alone. The existence of catalysts was further supported by Sabatier’s work on metal catalysts in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
What Exactly Are They?
Catalysts are substances that speed up chemical reactions, by lowering the activation energy of a reaction, which is the amount of energy needed for a reaction to proceed. By lowering the threshold for the reaction, they allow the reaction to reach the activation energy easier, therefore allowing the reaction to proceed faster. They can do this through steps like bringing the reactants closer or stabilizing the transition state. Additionally, catalysts aren’t consumed within the reaction and can be reused over and over.
There are three types of catalysts: homogenous, heterogenous, and bio. Homogeneous catalysts are in the same state as the reactants, while heterogeneous catalysts are in different states from the reactants. Biocatalysts are catalysts such as enzymes that catalyze biological reactions.
Real-world Applications
Catalysts are at work within our body every second of the day. Enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions in our body, acting as biological catalysts. When a substrate binds to the active site of an enzyme, a substrate-enzyme complex is formed. This further produces the products that are needed, speeding up the otherwise tedious chemical process. This is key within our body since chemical processes such as digestion rely on this procedure to ensure we’re healthy. For example, amylase is an enzyme in your saliva that begins the digestion of carbohydrates. Lactase is an enzyme that breaks down lactose (milk sugar). People who lack lactase suffer from lactose intolerance since their body is unable to efficiently break down the lactose that comes in. Other examples of enzymes are lipase, protease, and maltase. There are so many enzymes acting within our body, and each is crucial to ensuring we’re healthy.
Additionally, catalysts are prominently used in industrial processes. They are used in a multitude of industries, from petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals to food production and energy. For example, rennet is an enzyme complex that is used in cheese production. It speeds up the process of coagulating milk to form cheese curds. It contains a variety of enzymes such as chymosin and pepsin.
Conclusion
In conclusion, catalysts play a vital role in both the natural world and in industrial applications, making them essential to countless processes. Whether in our bodies, where enzymes facilitate life-sustaining reactions or in laboratories and factories where catalysts speed up chemical reactions to produce everything from fuels to medicines, these remarkable substances are indispensable. The work of pioneers like Elizabeth Fulhame, Jons Jacob Berzelius, and Paul Sabatier has laid the groundwork for our understanding of catalysis, which continues to shape advancements in chemistry and biotechnology. From aiding digestion to driving complex industrial processes, catalysts are unsung heroes that make the world around us more efficient and functional. Their ability to speed up reactions without being consumed in the process makes them invaluable in ensuring both biological health and technological progress.
Sources
Doe explains...catalysts | Department of Energy. (n.d.). https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainscatalysts
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. (n.d.). Catalysis. PNNL. https://www.pnnl.gov/explainer-articles/catalysis
Topsoe. (2024, November 18). Catalysts: At the core of Efficient Industrial Processes. https://www.topsoe.com/blog/catalysts-at-the-core-of-efficient-industrial-processes
Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Catalyst. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/catalyst