by J. K. Norskov, T. Bligaard, A. Logadottir, S. Bahn, L. B. Hansen, M. Bollinger, H. Bengaard, B. Hammer, Z. Sljivancanin, M. Mavrikakis, Y. Xu, S. Dahl, and C. J. H. Jacobsen.
J. Catal. 209, 275-278 (2002).
Based on an extensive set of density functional theory calculations it is shown that for a class of catalytic reactions there is a universa, reactant independent relation between the reaction activation energy and the stability of reaction intermediates. This leads directly to a universal relationship between adsorption energies and catalytic activity, which is used to pinpoint what it is that determines the best catalyst for a given reaction. The universality principle rationalizes a number of known facts about catalysts and points to new ways of improving them.