Hydrogen peroxide decomposes spontaneously to produce water and oxygen gas, yet a freshly prepared 0.30 M solution shows essentially no measurable loss of peroxide over several weeks at 298 K.
A laboratory technician is asked to account for this observation and to outline how the situation would change if a manganese(IV) oxide catalyst were introduced.
Answer the following.
(a) Describe the difference between thermodynamic favorability and kinetic accessibility in the context of the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide.
(b) Sketch—or verbally describe—an energy profile for the uncatalyzed decomposition, clearly identifying the relative positions of reactants, products, the transition state, the activation energy, and ΔG∘.
(c) Qualitatively explain how adding manganese(IV) oxide would modify the energy profile you described in part (b) and how this modification impacts the rate without altering the position of equilibrium.