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Why are many active solid catalysts highly porous?
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A scanning-electron-microscope photograph of pyroxene and plagioclase crystals (the long and the short crystals, respectively) that grew in a cavity in a fragment of Moon rock gathered during the Apollo 14 mission.
In heterogeneous catalysis, chemical reactions occur specifically at the surface of a solid catalyst. Because the rate of these reactions is directly proportional to the amount of accessible surface area, it is essential to maximize this area per unit of catalyst.1
Active solid catalysts are therefore typically designed to be highly porous, which allows them to achieve total surface areas as high as several hundred square metres per gram. By creating a porous structure, manufacturers ensure that a vast amount of reactive surface is available for the chemisorption of reactants, thereby increasing the efficiency and speed of the catalytic process.1