Introduction

Abstract

Although the subject of catalysis has been around ever since the first enzyme ‘catalysed’ an organic reaction it first began to develop into a science in 1836 when Berzelius used the word ‘catalysis’ to describe a number of previous experimental observations including Thenard’s (1813) that ammonia was decomposed by metals and Dobereiner’s (1825) that manganese dioxide modifies the rate of decomposition of potassium chlorate. Berzehus developed the word κατάλυσισ from two Greek words κατα- a prefix meaning down and λνσειν a verb meaning to split or break. Presumably Berzelius saw a catalyst as something that broke down the inhibitions of molecules towards reaction. Indeed this is consistent with the alternative Greek meaning of κατάλυσισ which is variously described as meaning either an inn or tavern [1] or the consequences of a failure of social or ethical restraints, such as a riot [2]. The popular press now uses the word catalysis in its alcoholic sense of ‘bringing together’ rather than its more literal sense of ‘breaking down’. A catalyst may be defined as ‘a substance which increases the rate at which a chemical reaction approaches equilibrium without being consumed in the process’. As befits a committee a longer, although more precise, description has been suggested by the UK Science Research Council [3]: “A system is said to be ‘catalysed’ when the rate of change from state I, to state II, is increased by contact with a specific material agent which is not a component of the system in either state, and when the magnitude of the effect is such as to correspond to one or more of the following descriptions: