[JLJ - what structures of pieces in a game can act as a catalyst to further action?]
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History
In a general sense, anything that increases the rate of a process is a "catalyst", a term derived from Greek
καταλύειν, meaning "to annul," or "to untie," or "to pick up." The phrase catalysed
processes was coined by J�ns Jakob Berzelius in 1836[14] to describe reactions that are accelerated by substances that
remain unchanged after the reaction.
The production of most industrially important chemicals involves catalysis. Similarly, most biochemically
significant processes are catalysed. Research into catalysis is a major field in applied science and involves many areas of
chemistry, notably in organometallic chemistry and materials science. Catalysis is relevant to many aspects of environmental
science, e.g. the catalytic converter in automobiles and the dynamics of the ozone hole. Catalytic reactions are preferred
in environmentally friendly green chemistry due to the reduced amount of waste generated,[3] as opposed to stoichiometric
reactions in which all reactants are consumed and more side products are formed. The most common catalyst is the proton (H+).
Many transition metals and transition metal complexes are used in catalysis as well. Catalysts called enzymes are important
in biology.
A catalyst works by providing an alternative reaction pathway to the reaction product. The rate of the reaction
is increased as this alternative route has a lower activation energy than the reaction route not mediated by the catalyst.
The disproportionation of hydrogen peroxide to give water and oxygen is a reaction that is strongly affected by catalysts:
2 H2O2 -> 2 H2O +
O2
This reaction is favoured in the sense that reaction products are more stable than the starting material,
however the uncatalysed reaction is slow. The decomposition of hydrogen peroxide is in fact so slow that hydrogen peroxide
solutions are commercially available. Upon the addition of a small amount of manganese dioxide, the hydrogen peroxide rapidly
reacts according to the above equation. This effect is readily seen by the effervescence of oxygen.[4] The manganese dioxide
may be recovered unchanged, and re-used indefinitely, and thus is not consumed in the reaction. Accordingly, manganese dioxide
catalyses this reaction.[5]
