Surface Catalysis on Metals

Most chemical innovations introduced from 1930 to 1980 in the chemical industry were catalytic in nature. Catalysis is clearly a key process in the chemical and petroleum industries. Catalysis continues to play an even bigger role in the future through the manufacture of chemicals in high selectivity with no waste generation, in the destruction of pollutants like NOx and CO, and in a number of processes for generation of energy. Catalysis is a kinetic phenomenon, and for this reason rates are of singular importance. Additional components are added to the industrial catalyst for it to achieve optimum rates, stability, and selectivity. The variation of the hydrogenolysis rate with the amount of copper in the case of ethane hydrogenolysis was caused by a decrease in the size of the active site or ensemble.