Competitive Catalytic Hydrogenation of Benzene, Toluene, and the Polymethylbenzenes on Platinium

Introduction: This investigation embraced a comparison of the relative rates of hydrogenation on platinum of benzene and several of its methyl-substituted derivatives with their relative strengths of adsorption on the active spots of the catalyst surface. It consisted of the determination of the rate of reduction of the individual hydrocarbons and a variety of their binary mixtures. Its ultimate goal was to aid in the elucidation of the mechanism by which the benzene nucleus accepts hydrogen on a platinum surface.