Experimental investigation demonstrates platinum-like catalytic activity in tungsten carbide, suggesting carbon modifies tungsten surface electronic properties to mimic precious metals.
Tungsten carbide catalyzes the formation of water from hydrogen and oxygen at room temperature, the reduction of tungsten trioxide by hydrogen in the presence of water, and the isomerization of 2,2-dimethylpropane to 2-methylbutane. This catalytic behavior, which is typical of platinum, is not exhibited at all by tungsten. The surface electronic properties of the latter are therefore modified by carbon in such a way that they resemble those of platinum.
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Levy et al. (1973) studied this question.
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