Heterogeneous gas-solid surface reactions

In this chapter we consider systems in which a reaction between two gaseous species is carried out in the adsorbed state on the surface of a solid. The products of the reaction will be gaseous, and the solid acts to increase the rate of a reaction which, in the gaseous state only, would be considerably slower, but would normally yield the same products. This effect is known as catalysis and is typified in industry by the role of adsorption in increasing the rate of synthesis of many organic products, and in the reduction of pollution by the catalytic converter for automobile exhaust. 

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Gas-solid reactions are among the most common type of heterogeneous reaction processes. The platinum surface catalyzed oxidation of hydrogen, discussed in the previous example, is an excellent example of a heterogeneous gas-solid surface reaction process. In Chapter 5, we will smdy a number of different gas-solid kinetic processes in great detail. To prepare for those smdies, in this section we will discuss a few more simple gas-solid surface reaction processes. 

FIGURE 3.8 Schematic illustration of CO poisoning a Pt catalyst snrface. This is an example of a heterogeneous gas-solid surface reaction process and can be described nsing reaction kinetic principles very similar to those we developed for homogeneons gas-phase reactions. 

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