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13 - Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials
University of Surrey
Chemoselective Catalytic Hydrogenation of Acrolein on Ag(111): Effect of Molecular Orientation on Reaction Selectivity
This paper shows how the bonding orientation of a molecule at a surface can radically affect its reactivity. The chemoselective hydrogenation of a-b unsaturated aldehydes to form unsaturated alcohols is of importance in the production of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Detailed understanding of the reaction mechanism, including the effects of molecular orientation and bonding on selectivity, had previously been largely speculative. High resolution XPS and NEXAFS were used to identify and characterise reactants, intermediates and products when acrolein was hydrogenated over Ag(111).