The hydrogen-deuterium equilibration reaction on platinum-rhodium alloy wires

An investigation of the catalytic properties of a series of platinum-rhodium alloy wires has been made, using pressures from 10 to 500 Nm-2. Apparent activation energies and pre-exponential factors were determined for each alloy and the pressure dependencies studied. The 42 s.w.g. wires used were also examined with optical microscopy and Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA). The introductory chapter includes sections dealing with the H2-D2 equilibration reaction and reaction kinetics. The succeeding chapters deal with experimental details, results, differential scanning calorimetry experiments on Pt-Rh alloy wires, ESCA studies on Pt-Rh alloy wires, and optical microscopy of catalyst wires. Chapter 7 (Discussion) includes sections on H2-D2 equilibration on Pt-Rh alloy wires and the H2-D2 equilibration reaction catalysed by Pt-Rh alloys. No systematic changes across the alloy series were conclusively observed, leading to the conclusion that the dependency of activity on electronic structure often observed for palladium gold alloys does not apply to the platinum-rhodium alloy system. (U.K.)