SURFACE INTERACTION OF ETHYLENE-GLYCOL WITH SILVER

Interaction of ethylene glycol with clean and oxidized surfaces of an Ag catalyst has been studied under pre-catalysis conditions. On a clea n surface, ethylene glycol was reversibly adsorbed with the formation of a multilayer coverage. Adsorbed ethylene glycol weakly bonded to th e oxidized silver surface leads to the selective formation of glyoxal via two parallel routes: dehydrogenation and oxidation. Dissociative i nteraction of ethylene glycol with Ag led to the appearance of formald ehyde and carbon dioxide by-products.