A reaction’s uncatalysed energy profile contains a single peak of

CHEMISTRY · Subjective · A Level · Chemistry · Kinetics · Kinetics

Problem

A reaction’s uncatalysed energy profile contains a single peak of 145 kJ mol−1145\,\text{kJ mol}^{-1}. In the presence of a catalyst, the profile now displays two peaks with activation energies of 55 kJ mol−155\,\text{kJ mol}^{-1} and 85 kJ mol−185\,\text{kJ mol}^{-1}, respectively. Identify which elementary step is rate-determining in the catalysed mechanism and justify whether the overall reaction rate is expected to increase relative to the uncatalysed pathway.

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