An EPR study of a palladium catalyst using a PBN (N-benzylidene-tert-butylamine N-oxide) spin trap: direct demonstration of hydrogen spillover

EPR spectroscopy, in conjunction with spin trapping, is shown to provide a convenient, simple technique for detecting the dissociation of hydrogen on a supported palladium catalyst and leads to a direct demonstration of the occurrence of spillover on to the alumina support.