Hydrogenation – Heterogeneous

Abstract The development of heterogeneous hydrogenation catalysis started at the beginning of the twentieth century. It is still the most developed field of catalysis in terms of the varieties of catalysts and applications. This article gives a survey in two parts of all the aspects of heterogeneous catalysis dealing with the hydrogenation of organic molecules. The first deals with all the fundamental aspects including molecular mechanisms, kinetics of reactions, catalyst structure–activity/selectivity relationships, and all the physicochemical factors affecting the rate and selectivity of hydrogenation reactions. The second part deals with more practical aspects such as the description of the different types of hydrogenation catalysts, on their selection to achieve a specific hydrogenation reaction, and of their utilization in reactors.