Accueil  >  Séminaires  >  Catalysis from a physics perspective
Catalysis from a physics perspective
Par Olivier Rivoire (ESPCI)
Le 14 Février 2023 à 11h00 - salle de séminaires 5ème étage - LJP - Tour 32-33

Résumé

Catalysis, the acceleration of chemical reactions by substances that are not changed in the process, is essential to life as well as to our industry. The physical principles underlying catalysis are considered well known but there is no consensus as to why the many efforts to build artificial catalysts have not yet resulted in catalysts comparable to enzymes, the biocatalysts that power living processes with unmatched efficiency. I will present theoretical models that we are developing to study in the simplest settings the physical trade-offs to which catalysis is subject and show how the analysis of these trade-offs suggests a possible explanation for the superiority of enzymes.