Tetralin → Naphthalene

Participants

Reaction Steps

In practice tetralin together with the catalyst to be tested is introduced into a small unstirred autoclave. No hydrogen is added to the autoclave. The autoclave is heated to an elevated temperature, and the tetralin dehydrogenates as the equilibrium shifts towards a new value characteristic of the elevated temperature used. The rate at which the system moves towards equilibrium and hence the quantity of naphthalene produced in a given time depends upon the activity of the catalyst. The quantity of naphthalene produced is determined by GLC or by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-nmr). The quantity of naphthalene produced is then expressed as a percentage of that produced when using a fresh unused catalyst to obtain a measure of the catalyst activity.

Provenance & Evidence