Adsorption of Acetone onto MgO: Experimental and Theoretical Evidence for the Presence of a Surface Enolate.

ABSTRACT

A new band at 1640 cm-1 is revealed by diffuse reflectance FT-IR spectroscopy of acetone adsorbed on a MgO surface (shown schematically). On the grounds of ab initio quantum-mechanical calculations, this band is assigned to an adsorbed enolate species. This evidence proves the catalytic role of the metal oxide surface in the condensation reaction mechanism.