Potential Energy Diagrams and the Effect of Catalysts [closed]








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Why does a potential energy diagram showing the effect of a catalyst on activation energy not move left on the reaction pathway scale (compared to uncatalysed reaction) if a catalyst speeds up reactions?




Because the reaction coordinate does not indicate speed.
It represents a certain state of the reaction (e.g. 50 % completed) but it does not have any information about time in it.


Therefore the higher reaction speed is not represented in those diagrams. 


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