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Glite Dictionary
autocatalysis

autocatalysis

9.7
A chemical reaction where one product makes the reaction happen faster
  • noun
  • /ˌɔːtəʊkəˈtælɪsɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : autocatalisis
  • In a process of autocatalysis, the product of a reaction enhances the reaction itself.

Examples

  • The general ability of some molecules to make more molecules like themselves is known to chemists as autocatalysis.

    Academic text (2013)

  • And he is confident that the chemical study of autocatalysis will play some part, whether it is the Kauffman-championed network variety or some more restricted type more like that used in many biochemical reactions in cells.

    Academic text (2013)

  • The discovery of autocatalysis led scientists to understand how certain reactions can accelerate without external catalysts.

  • Researchers observed that the phenomenon of autocatalysis is crucial in many biological processes.

How Self-Sustaining

hypercycle
  • Specialized
9.9
autocatalysis
  • Specialized
9.7

Surface Forms

autocatalysis singular
autocatalyses plural

Morphology

autocatalysis = catalysis (semi-transparent) = auto + catalysis

The prefix auto- clearly means 'self', but the base word catalysis is a technical term, so the meaning is not fully accessible to a general learner.

Etymology

Autocatalysis comes from auto- ('self') and catalysis, the action of a catalyst ('something that makes a reaction go faster'). So, autocatalysis is when a product of a chemical reaction acts like that catalyst and makes the same reaction go faster, in other words 'helping itself' to form more quickly.