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Why is a catalyst not used up during a chemical reaction?
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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.
A catalyst is not consumed during a chemical reaction because, although it may enter into chemical combination with the reactants during the process, it is ultimately regenerated.1
Because the catalyst is restored to its original state, the total amount of catalyst remains unchanged, allowing a single catalyst molecule to facilitate the transformation of many reactant molecules. By lowering the activation energy required for a reaction to occur, the catalyst increases the reaction rate without being permanently altered or depleted.1