Design Types of Catalytic Systems
Catalytic design systems vary depending on the type of catalysts. The standard catalytic systems encompass heterogeneous, homogeneous, and combined homogeneous and heterogeneous systems. Generally, catalysts offer substitutive reaction routes to reaction products (Godish, Davis & Fu, 2014). Hence, catalysts speed up the rate of reaction since they have reduced activation energy than reaction pathways that are not mediated by catalysts. Homogenous catalysis involves catalytic processes where the reactants and catalysts are of a similar state of matter. In contrast, heterogeneous catalysis involves catalytic processes where reactants and catalysts are of different states of matter. A combination of the two methods consists of the integration of both principles.
Factors That Often Degrade These Systems
The pivotal factors that trigger the degradation of catalytic systems constitute temperature, stability, selectivity, and irradiation of light. The design of catalytic systems requires that it activates inert substrates under conditions that facilitate mild reactions to avoid increased oxidation (Balcer, 2015). Further, the correlation between increased temperature and increased selectivity necessitates the use of more catalysts. The photodegradation of organic catalysts is influenced by the irradiation of light and temperature (Gnanaprakasam, Sivakumar & Thirumarimurugan, 2015). The quantity of catalyst plays a critical role in a reaction and the possibility of degradation. Light is significant in degrading crude micro-pollutants to fine particles. Therefore, photocatalysis technologies have been developed to manage in wastewater treatment. The quantity of catalyst should meet optimal requirements since high amounts of catalyst imply decreased rates of degradation, while fewer amounts lead to degeneration. Further, the doping of metallic and non-metallic ions affects the degradation process of organic elements.
Conclusively, three are three main designs of catalytic systems whose degradation is affected by factors such as temperature, light, and selectivity. The underlying factors have to be considered to prevent the deterioration of catalytic systems.
