Molecular catalysis has revealed that the macroscopic phenomena observed in experiments are caused by the emergent behavior of very small particles guided by the laws of quantum mechanics. Remarkably, these quantum effects are propagated over roughly ten orders of magnitude, at which point their behavior is considered to be classic.
Within this reader, we will elaborate on the connection between the smallest quantum scale and the larger macroscopic scale, providing a theoretical framework on which many kinetic studies in heterogeneous catalysis are based. We will focus on the underlying quantum chemical mechanism leading to the observed overall rate laws in chemistry and process engineering.