Question
Question: List a few limitations of catalyst....
List a few limitations of catalyst.
Solution
Hint : Any catalyst which creates abruptic in the reaction any way or other which leads to the wrong product formation or abnormality in the concentration of the product formed.
Complete Step By Step Answer:
There are many chemical reactions which form many products but are slow or don’t even proceed to the equilibrium point. This created the problem of creating products which won't happen thermodynamically but here comes the catalyst.
A catalyst is any substance which when dissolved in the reaction, increases the rate of the reaction. The best property of a catalyst is that it itself remains unreacted in the reaction.
But there are few limitations to the problem:
Catalyst is expensive- catalysts are very rare elements which itself have a very expensive process of interaction and then formation, catalyst are generally natural compounds.
The biggest problem we feel in case of a catalyst is that different reactions require different catalysts, which creates a logistic and price problem. It is really difficult to have the right catalyst for the specific reaction.
They are often having to be removed and cleaned. They don’t react with chemicals reacting but sometimes react with the product or stick to the surface so a different process to remove them has to be performed.
If there is any impurity, even a little bit then the catalyst goes ruined and stops functioning.
Limitations of catalyst are cost, variety to be used for variety reactions (very specific), have to be removed from product and get ruined when there is any impurity.
Note :
Catalyst production is a booming industry these days. There is a catalyst which indicates completion of half of the reaction and also varies reaction to reaction so always be specific about them.