Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => High School Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: Akuma2636 on July 24, 2005, 12:43:31 AM
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I'm having problems with some questions in my Chemistry book. I don't really understand what they're trying to ask me.
The question is 'Why are many catalysts used in the form of fine wire mesh?'
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Catalysts will generally bind one or more of the reactants to promote a reaction and make it go faster. For solids, this means that the reactants must bind at the solid's surface. Hence, the more surface area a catalyst has, the greater number of reactions it can catalyze at once. By making your catalyst into a fine wire mesh, you maximize the surface area of the catalyst.
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catalysts are designed to speed up the rate of reaction. there are other ways to speed up the rate of reaction too, like exposed surface area of a solid.
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fine-wire-mesh catalysts are usually heterogenous catalysts. the reactants bind to the surface of the catalyst before the reaction proceeds to form the required products. the fine wire mesh structure maximises the area of the catalyst exposed to the reactants where the reaction can proceed. in another words, the amount of reactant that binds to the catalyst surface is maximised, thus increasing the reaction rate substantially.
the fine-wire-mesh design allows the the reactant to be transported as a fluid carries the reactant is pumped over the wire-mesh. as soon the product is formed and leaves the catalyst surface, the fluid current carries the product away. this facilitates the absorption of another reactant substrate on the surface.