Surface reactions of acetone, acetylene and methylbutynol on a yttrium-modified magnesium oxide catalyst

Polymerization of acetone and acetylene, the decomposition products of meth ylbutynol (MBOH), on the surface of Y/MgO catalyst was inferred using high- temperature transmission FTIR spectroscopy. It was found that MBOH decompos es into acetone and acetylene revealing the basic surface character of Y/Mg O catalyst. However, modification of MgO with Y3+ cations decreased the cat alyst activity towards MBOH decomposition relative to that observed for pur e MgO. The consecutive polymerization of the decomposition products is resp onsible for this low activity, since polymerized acetone is strongly adsorb ed on the catalyst surface, and hence, blocks the surface active sites. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.