cataliza

Cataliza is the third-person singular present indicative form of the Spanish verb catalizar, meaning to catalyze or to speed up a chemical reaction. In scientific writing, cataliza is used to describe what a catalyst does: for example, "La enzima cataliza la reacción" translates to "The enzyme catalyzes the reaction." The noun corresponding to the catalyst itself is catalizador (catalyst), not cataliza, which denotes the action rather than the substance.

Catalysis, the process being described, is the acceleration of a chemical reaction by a substance that is not consumed in the overall reaction. A catalyst provides an alternative reaction pathway with lower activation energy, increasing the reaction rate while remaining chemically unchanged at the end of the process. Some catalysts participate in transient steps but are regenerated, so the net reaction progresses with the same catalyst.

Catalytic activity depends on factors such as temperature, pressure, concentration, and the presence of inhibitors or poisons. Catalysts are widely employed in industry to improve efficiency and selectivity, in processes like petroleum refinement, polymerization, and pharmaceutical synthesis. In biology, enzymes act as natural catalysts, mediating countless biochemical reactions under mild conditions.

Etymology traces the term catalysis to the Greek katalysis, from kata- "down" and lysis "disintegration" or loosening. While cataliza appears frequently in Spanish as a verb form, there is no separate scientific concept known by this name; it is the grammatical form describing catalysis.