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How do iron ions increase the catalytic effect of copper ions in reactions involving hydrogen peroxide and iodine?
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catalysis
Nanoparticles of a gold-palladium (yellow-blue) alloy supported on acid-treated carbon (gray) directly catalyzing hydrogen peroxide formation from hydrogen (white) and oxygen (red) while shutting off unwanted hydrogen peroxide decomposition.
In the context of homogeneous catalysis, the interaction between iron and copper ions in the reaction between hydrogen peroxide and iodine is an example of promoter action.
When two or more catalysts are present simultaneously and produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their individual contributions, it is referred to as promoter action. In this specific reaction, it is assumed that the iron ions and copper ions increase the overall catalytic effect because each catalyst activates a different reactant involved in the process.1