How does.....?

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article says...when passed over a precious- metal catalyst such as .ruthenuim the compound reacts with water to liberate hydrogen that can be fed to a fuel cell..so in this case how is the catalyst reacting i am so confused...any hint?i mean usually a catalyst speeds up a reaction...wat about this case?

Answer 1

Ruthenium is an element, not a compound. Metals are often used as catalysts as they are excellent electron donors and acceptors. In water, the hydrogen has an oxidation state of +1 but in hydrogen gas the oxidation state is 0. Also remember that hydrogen forms a diatomic molecule, so each hydgogen gas molecule has gained two electrons.

The catalyst acts as the 'platform' for the reaction, just as platinum does in other chemical reactions. This process is called adsorption: the binding of molecules to a surface.

For an image, see http://wine1.sb.fsu.edu/chm1046/notes/Kinetics/Catalyst/Catalyst.htm
Scroll down until you see the three images.

Answer 2

The author of the article really didn't chose his wording all that carefully. First, be assured that a catalyst never "reacts" with anything in a traditional sense because it's never actually consumed. Here's my rationalization. A catalyst by definition allows a reaction to proceed more efficiently by finding an alternate pathway that reaches the same product as the unaided reaction. The key is that the catalyst usually decreases the amount of energy needed for a reaction to "go." In the context of the fuel cell, the metal catalyst seems to be providing a lower-energy pathway in the decomposition reaction of water which is

H20 (l) ---> 1/2H2(g) + 1/2O2(g)

Generally, you don't think about water decomposing into its constituent gases. After all, H2O is more stable than H2 or O2, and that's the reason why it is in such abundance. The reaction to decompose water would thus be overall endothermic, requiring energy to occur. The catalyst decreases the amount of energy required to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen gases.

I hope that helped clarify the misunderstanding.

Answer 3

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