• Catalysts are substances which?speed up?the?rate?of a reaction without themselves being?altered?or?consumed?in the reaction
• The mass of a catalyst at the beginning and end of a reaction is the?same?and they do not form part of the equation
• An important industrial example is iron, which is used to catalyse the?Haber?Process?for the production of ammonia
• Iron?beads?are used to increase the?surface?area?available for catalysis
• Normally only?small?amounts?of catalysts are needed to have an effect on a reaction
• Different processes require different types of catalysts but they all work on the same principle of providing an?alternate route?for the reaction to occur
• They do this by lowering the activation energy required, hence providing a reaction pathway requiring less energy
• Catalysis is a very important? branch of chemistry in commercial terms as catalysts increase the rate of reaction (hence the production rate) and they reduce energy costs
• The transition metals are used widely as catalysts as they have variable oxidation states allowing them to readily?donate?and?accept?different numbers of electrons. This is key to their catalytic activity

Catalysts work by attracting reactant molecules on to the surface and so providing an alternate reaction pathway of lower energy