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How catalytic chemical reactions are explained in a layman language?

by   Maryam Hussain What is a catalyst? A catalyst is a material that increases the rate and selectivity of a chemical reaction. Whenever a catalytic reaction occurs, cyclic regeneration of the catalyst is required to maintain the catalytic activity. On the basis of the physical phases of reactants and the catalysts, there are two types of catalytic reactions and here only one of those will be described. The type of catalytic reaction in an automobile’s catalytic converter is called heterogeneous catalysis . How do the catalytic reactions occur? In this process, reactants (CO, O 2 , NOx, HC, etc.) adsorb onto the surface of a solid catalyst and are activated by chemical interaction with the catalyst surface, and are then rapidly and selectively transformed to adsorbed products, which desorb from the catalyst surface and go away to the environment through the exhaust pipe. Once the product is desorbed from the surface of the catalyst, the catalyst returns to its orig...