What is the role of catalysts in chemical reactions?

Catalysts play a pivotal role in chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy required for those reactions to occur. Activation energy is the minimum energy barrier that must be overcome for reactants to transform into products. By providing an alternative pathway with a lower energy threshold, catalysts enable more reactant molecules to achieve the required energy for reaction at a given temperature. This effectively increases the reaction rate without being consumed in the process, allowing them to facilitate multiple reactions over time.

The reduction of activation energy is crucial because it means that reactions can proceed more readily and rapidly under the same conditions, which is essential in both industrial applications and biological systems where enzymes serve as natural catalysts.