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Nature Chemistry (20 June 2008) | doi:10.1038/nchem.25

Catalytic hydrogenation: Guided by theory

Gavin Armstrong

Ethylene feedstocks for polymer synthesis must contain less than a few parts per million of acetylene, but those produced by steam cracking are generally contaminated with much more. This alkyne impurity can be removed by hydrogenation, but the reaction must be catalytically selective to stop at ethylene and not react further to produce ethane.