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Auto Catalysis

The oxidation of ethanedioic acid by manganate(VII) ions is an example of autocatalysis where the reaction is catalyzed by one of its products. The reaction starts slowly at room temperature since it lacks manganese(II) ions, which are produced as the reaction proceeds and act as a catalyst to increase the reaction rate. A graph of the reactant concentration over time shows an initial slow phase followed by an accelerating rate as more catalyst is formed.

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Kenneth Quek
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194 views2 pages

Auto Catalysis

The oxidation of ethanedioic acid by manganate(VII) ions is an example of autocatalysis where the reaction is catalyzed by one of its products. The reaction starts slowly at room temperature since it lacks manganese(II) ions, which are produced as the reaction proceeds and act as a catalyst to increase the reaction rate. A graph of the reactant concentration over time shows an initial slow phase followed by an accelerating rate as more catalyst is formed.

Uploaded by

Kenneth Quek
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Autocatalysis

The oxidation of ethanedioic acid by manganate(VII) ions

In autocatalysis, the reaction is catalysed by one of its products. One of the


simplest examples of this is in the oxidation of a solution of ethanedioic acid
(oxalic acid) by an acidified solution of potassium manganate(VII) (potassium
permanganate).

The reaction is very slow at room temperature. It is used as a titration to find


the concentration of potassium manganate(VII) solution and is usually carried
out at a temperature of about 60°C. Even so, it is quite slow to start with.

The reaction is catalysed by manganese(II) ions. There obviously aren't any of


those present before the reaction starts, and so it starts off extremely slowly at
room temperature. However, if you look at the equation, you will find
manganese(II) ions amongst the products. More and more catalyst is
produced as the reaction proceeds and so the reaction speeds up.

You can measure this effect by plotting the concentration of one of the
reactants as time goes on. You get a graph quite unlike the normal rate curve
for a reaction.

Most reactions give a rate curve which looks like this:

Concentrations are high at the beginning and so the reaction is fast - shown
by a rapid fall in the reactant concentration. As things get used up, the
reaction slows down and eventually stops as one or more of the reactants are
completely used up.
An example of autocatalysis gives a curve like this:

You can see the slow (uncatalysed) reaction at the beginning. As catalyst
begins to be formed in the mixture, the reaction speeds up - getting faster and
faster as more and more catalyst is formed. Eventually, of course, the rate
falls again as things get used up.

Warning!

Don't assume that a rate curve which looks like this necessarily shows an
example of autocatalysis. There are other effects which might produce a
similar graph.

For example, if the reaction involved a solid reacting with a liquid, there might
be some sort of surface coating on the solid which the liquid has to penetrate
before the expected reaction can happen.

A more common possibility is that you have a strongly exothermic reaction


and aren't controlling the temperature properly. The heat evolved during the
reaction speeds the reaction up.

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