Abstract:
Catalysis have been a part of the human civilization since centuries. One of the early examples of catalysis is the fermentation of biological materials such as grapes, rice, etc to produce ethyl alcohol using yeast. However, the concept of catalysis was formulated much later. It was in 1835 that J.J. Berzelius coined the term catalysis based on the conclusions he drew from the experiments of the contemporary scientists. Based on his observations, he proposed the following [1]:
It is then shown that several simple and compound bodies, soluble and insoluble, have the property of exercising on other bodies and action very different from chemical affinity. The body affecting the changes does not take part in the reaction and remains unaltered through the reaction. This unknown body acts by means of an internal force, whose nature is unknown to us. This new force, up till now unknown, is common to organic and inorganic nature. I do not believe that this force is independent of the electrochemical affinities of matter; I believe on the contrary, that it is a new manifestation of the same, but, since we cannot see their connection and independence, it will be more convenient to designate the force by a new name. I will, therefore, call it the Catalytic Force, and I will call Catalysisthe decomposition of bodies by this force, in the same way, that we call by Analysis the decomposition of bodies by chemical affinity.[1]
