Britannica
Sources used in this answer
What did Michael Faraday discover about clean platinum surfaces and catalytic activity?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
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 1834, Michael Faraday investigated the ability of a platinum plate to facilitate the recombination of hydrogen and oxygen gases.1
Faraday discovered that the catalytic activity of the platinum surface was significantly influenced by the presence of other gases, such as ethylene and carbon monoxide, which retarded the recombination process. He concluded that a perfectly clean metallic surface was essential for catalytic activity, as these retarding gases could compete with the reacting gases for space on the surface, thereby suppressing the reaction. This insight regarding the necessity of a clean surface for catalysis became a foundational concept in the field.1