Fig. 1. Overview of the process of creating volcano plots. Free energy plots for individual catalysts are first created (a). After the profiles of multiple catalysts have been determined, linear scaling relationships are determined for key intermediates (b), which relate the stabilities of different species (e.g., reaction intermediates) in terms of a single descriptor. Using the mathematical equations defining the linear scaling relationships a volcano plot can be created (c), which allows facile comparison of the energetics of different catalysts.
