Crotonaldehyde hydrogenation on Rh supported catalysts

The vapor-phase hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde on Rh supported catalysts has been studied, The effect of some variables of preparation in catalysts prepared by the sol-gel and impregnation methods on the surface and catalytic properties were analyzed. It was found, that the porosity of the support has a small effect on the selectivity to the unsaturated alcohol and the presence of partially reducible supports such as ZrO(2) and TiO(2), may increase the selectivity to crotyl alcohol via an enhancement of the polarization of the C=O bond as a result of surface decoration of the metal component. The presence of chlorine ions in the metal-support interfacial region, also allows, in a certain extension, a polarization of the carbonyl bond.