Question
Question: Does free energy change with a catalyst?...
Does free energy change with a catalyst?
Solution
Catalysis is the addition of a catalyst to a chemical reaction to speed up the pace of the reaction. Catalysts are not consumed and remain unaltered after the reaction. In many cases, just a tiny quantity of catalyst is necessary. Catalysts often react with one or more reactants to produce intermediates, which then provide the ultimate reaction product, renewing the catalyst in the process.
Complete answer:
The Gibbs free energy is a thermodynamic potential that may be used to calculate the maximum reversible work that a thermodynamic system can accomplish at a fixed temperature and pressure in thermodynamics. The Gibbs free energy is the greatest amount of non-expansion work that may be taken from a thermodynamically closed system ΔG=ΔH−TΔS , measured in joules in SI (one that can exchange heat and work with its surroundings, but not matter).
When looking at a chemical reaction's energy diagram, we may see two domains: thermodynamic and kinetic. The thermodynamic domain determines whether the reaction can take place, whereas the kinetic domain determines whether the reaction will take place quickly or slowly. A thermodynamic function is free energy. The reaction's free energy will tell us whether it will occur spontaneously in one direction or the other. The rate of the reaction, which is a kinetic function, is influenced by catalysts. It decreases the reaction's activation energy, shortening the reaction's route without altering the energies of the reactants or products, and therefore having no effect on the free energy.
Gibbs free energy change is a state function that is independent of the reaction's route; it is determined only by the reaction's enthalpy and entropy, which are determined solely by the reactants and products. If we think about it in terms of equilibrium, adding a catalyst does not affect the reaction's equilibrium, which is a property of Gibbs free energy, G=−RT ln K , which remains constant (at constant temperature). As a result of the preceding explanation, we now know that the catalyst's sole impact is to reduce the reaction's activation energy. Because the catalyst has no influence on enthalpy, entropy, or temperature, there is no effect on Gibbs free energy.
Hence No is the answer.
Note:
Promoters are chemicals that boost catalytic activity but aren't catalysts in and of themselves. Because inhibitors slow down the pace of a process, they are frequently referred to as "negative catalysts." They don't function by providing a reaction path with a higher activation energy; instead, the non-catalyzed path is used to carry out the reaction. They work instead by deactivating catalysts or eliminating chemical intermediates like free radicals.