Fraction of Pt surface covered with coke following hydrogenolysis of hexane

Following hydrogenolysis of n‐hexane on an alumina‐supported platinum catalyst, the surface of the metal is covered partially with carbonaceous residues or coke. The fraction of surface platinum not covered with coke has been found to be about one half by four independent techniques: titration of preadsorbed oxygen by dihydrogen, chemisorption of carbon monoxide, infrared spectroscopy of chemisorbed carbon monoxide, and hydrogenation rate of ethylene. The first of these techniques suggests itself as the simplest one for further studies of deactivation by coking of platinum catalysts.