ABSTRACT
Catalysis is a phenomenon in which a small quantity of a substance, called the catalyst, increases substantially the rate of a chemical or a biological reaction without being consumed. Many chemical and biological processes rely on catalysis. The Swedish chemist J.J. Berzelius was the first, in 1835, to notice that certain chemicals accelerate chemical reactions while remaining unchanged after the reaction. Today, 90% of all commercial chemical processes rely on catalysis.
