write the equation for the key step involved in the catalytic oxidation
Answers
We have seen that the rate of many reactions can be accelerated by catalysts. A catalyst speeds up the rate of a reaction by lowering the activation energy; in addition, the catalyst is regenerated in the process. Several reactions that are thermodynamically favorable in the absence of a catalyst only occur at a reasonable rate when a catalyst is present. One such reaction is catalytic hydrogenation, the process by which hydrogen is added across an alkene C=C bond to afford the saturated alkane product. A comparison of the reaction coordinate diagrams (also known as energy diagrams) for catalyzed and uncatalyzed alkene hydrogenation is shown in Figure 1.
A graph is shown with the label, “Reaction coordinate,” on the x-axis and the label,“Energy,” on the y-axis. Approximately half-way up the y-axis, a short portion of a black concave down curve which has a horizontal line extended from it across the graph. The left end of this line is labeled “H subscript 2 C equals C H subscript 2 plus H subscript 2.” The black concave down curve extends upward to reach a maximum near the height of the y-axis. The peak of this curve is labeled, “Transition state.” A double sided arrow extends from the horizontal line to the peak of the curve. This arrow is labeled, “Activation energy of Uncatalyzed reation.” From the peak, the curve continues downward to a second horizontally flattened region well below the origin of the curve near the x-axis. This flattened region is shaded in blue and is labeled “H subscript 3 C dash C H subscript 3.” A double sided arrow is drawn from the lowers part of this curve at the far right of the graph to the line extending across the graph above it. This arrow is labeled, “capital delta H less than 0 : exothermic.” A second curve is drawn with the same flattened regions at the start and end of the curve. The height of this curve is about two-thirds the height of the first curve. A double sided arrow is drawn from the horizontal line that originates at the left side of the graph to the peak of this second curve. This arrow is labeled, “Activation energy of catalyzed reaction.”