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I am doing an acid and magnesium reaction for my A2 coursework, and wanted to use a catalyst to lower the activation energy. What would I use?
220908

Ulex says ......
 
You could try adding a drop of copper(II) sulphate solution. This works for the reaction between zinc and acids, so I would expect it to have some effect on the equivalent magnesium reaction.
 
It works when the zinc displaces a little copper metal so that you now have two metals in contact with an electrolyte. This sets up a short-circuited cell which electrolyses itself.
 

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updated: 23 September 2008

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