Catalysis is not only one of the
most crucial principles of Green
Chemistry but also one of the most used industrial strategies to improve
yields and to shift to more environmental-friendly processes. Due
to the great importance of catalysis, we propose a laboratory activity
related to heterogeneous catalysis courses (upper and undergraduate
students). It involves the preparation of a catalyst, the study of
its activity in a three-phase reaction, and the analysis of the results.
The selected reaction is the catalytic removal of bromates in water
that can be easily monitored by a simple titration method. Students
will analyze the reaction products, and with the obtained data, they
will work in different concepts related to catalysis. In brief, this
hands-on activity enables students to apply catalysis by themselves
as an effective tool to solve a water pollution problem.