Sabatier principle

If the interaction is too weak, the molecule will fail to bind to the catalyst and no reaction will take place.

On the other hand, if the interaction is too strong, the product fails to dissociate.

[1] The principle can be shown graphically by plotting the reaction rate against a property such as the heat of adsorption of the reactant by the catalyst.

[1] Analogous three-dimensional plots can also be built against two different properties, such as the heats of adsorption of the two reactants for a two-component reaction.

[3][4] The figure on the right shows a volcano plot for the decomposition of formic acid using different transition metals as catalysts.