Isolated and Competitive Hydrogenation to Characterize Ni-B Catalysts

Abstract The hydrogenation of cyclohexene and cyclooctene in the liquid phase is proposed as test reactions system to probe electron transfer on the metallic catalytic center. Noble metal catalysts (Pd, Pt, Rh) are studied to delineate the limitations of this methodology. From its application to Ni-B catalysts, it is tempting to reverse generally accepted ideas and to propose an electron transfer from the nickel atom to its neighbors.