We have developed the first theory for electrochemical electron transfer reaction that can account for specific catalytic effects. By abandoning the wide-band approximation, we have been able to introduce specific interactions with d-bands, which lower the activation energy. We have applied this model to the breaking of a bond in a diatomic molecule; this is a particularly important case, since generally bond breaking requires a strong catalytic effect of the electrode. When this molecule is far from the electrode, its bonding orbital is filled and its antibonding orbital is empty; during the reaction the antibonding orbital is filled and the bond is broken. The final states consist of two ions, which strongly interact with the polar molecules of the solvent. As is well-known from the theory of Marcus for simple electron transfer, this interaction stabilizes the ions, and the electron transfer generally involves a reorganization, or fluctuation, of the solvent. Our theory permits the calculation of potential energy surfaces V(q,r) as a function of the solvent coordinate q and the bond distance r. An example is shown below.