What is the role of positive catalyst in a chemical reaction ?

A catalyst is a substance that alters the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process [4]. Specifically, a positive catalyst increases the rate of reaction by providing an alternative chemical pathway with a lower activation energy. By lowering this energy barrier, it becomes easier for reactant molecules to overcome the threshold required to form products, leading to a higher reaction rate [2]. While catalysts improve efficiency and can enhance selectivity toward desired products in industrial applications, they do not change the overall yield or the final equilibrium state of the reaction [3]. A catalysed reaction produces the same amount of product as an uncatalysed one, but it does so significantly faster. Therefore, the primary role of a positive catalyst is to speed up the chemical transformation [1].

Sources

1. [2] https://www.pnnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-17214.pdf
2. [4] https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainscatalysts
3. [3] https://rnlkwc.ac.in/pdf/study-material/chemistry/DSE3_Catalysis___GM.pdf
4. [1] https://courseware.cutm.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Catalysis.pdf