Catalytic hydrogenation of allene

Abstract

The reaction between allene and hydrogen over pumice-supported metals of the eighth group has been investigated in a constant volume reactor for a wide range of temperature and reactant ratios. The shape of the pressure–time curves were found to be dependent upon the reactant ratios and their order of admission. The reaction over nickel–pumice is principally a selective formation of propylene with small yields of propane and reduced polymers of allene. The orders of hydrogenation reaction are first, or slightly higher, and zero with respect to hydrogen and allene respectively. The apparent activation energies for Pd, Pt, Co, Fe, Ni, Rh, Ir, Ru, and Os are 13, 17.4, 10.8, 9.4, 7.8, 9.6, 5.3, 3.0, and 4.6 kcal/mole respectively. The catalytic activities of the metals are in the sequence[Formula: see text]While selectivity was found to decrease with increasing initial hydrogen pressures, it increased with increasing temperatures.