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Acetaldehyde as Main Product of the Oxidation of Ethylene Oxide on a Silver Catalyst
Author(s) -
Prauser Günther,
Fischer Guillermo,
Dialer Kurt
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition in english
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 0570-0833
DOI - 10.1002/anie.198004071
Subject(s) - catalysis , ethylene , acetaldehyde , ethylene oxide , chemistry , oxide , organic chemistry , ethanol , copolymer , polymer
False conclusions about the relevance of a process in heterogeneously catalyzed reactions can be drawn if this process is examined in isolation. Thus ethylene is oxidized on an unmodified Ag catalyst to ethylene oxide which can undergo “after‐combustion” to CO 2 and H 2 O. In contrast, when examined in isolation under the same conditions, ethylene oxide isomerizes to acetaldehyde. Ethylene appears to block the catalyst sites necessary for this reaction.