Revise: Controlling the rate Catalysts

A catalyst alters the rate of a reaction, allowing it to be done at a lower temperature. Catalysts are therefore used in the chemical industry to make manufacturing processes more economical.

Some examples of catalysts used in industry are:

• Iron – used to make ammonia by the Haber Process
• Platinum – used in manufacture of nitric acid (Ostwald process)
• Rhodium and Platinum - in catalytic converters
• Nickel – to make margarine by hardening vegetable oil
• Vanadium (V) Oxide – in the contact process, to make sulphuric acid

Adding a catalyst lowers the activation energy. This increases the number of molecules with the minimum kinetic energy required for a reaction to take place. This increases the number of successful collisions, thus increasing the rate of reaction.