Adsorption of [14C]acetylene and [14C]ethylene on supported metal catalysts: relevance to the selective hydrogenation of acetylene

Abstract

The adsorption of [¹⁴C]acetylene and [¹⁴C]ethylene on supported palladium, rhodium, and iridium catalysts occurs irreversibly at 298 K in two distinct stages: a non-linear primary region, followed by a linear secondary region; hydrogenation catalysis is associated with the secondary region and separate sites are involved in the adsorption of [¹⁴C]acetylene and [¹⁴C]ethylene, and the relevance of these observations to the selective hydrogenation of acetylene is briefly discussed.