How Can Energy Landscapes be Used to Design Better Catalysts?
By understanding the energy landscape, researchers can identify the key barriers to a reaction and design catalysts that specifically address these barriers. For instance, if a particular intermediate is found to be high in energy, a catalyst can be designed to stabilize this intermediate. Similarly, if the transition state is the bottleneck, the catalyst can be optimized to lower the energy of this state. This approach, known as rational catalyst design, allows for the development of more efficient and selective catalysts.
