The decomposition of methanol at low pressures by rhenium

A heated rhenium wire is an effective catalyst for the decomposition of methanol at low pressures, the mass-spectrometrically recorded products of decomposition being carbon monoxide and hydrogen. When newly cleaned, more than 30% of c led to decomposition, for filament temperatures between 900 and 1300 K. Under steady-state conditions, or when the filament was pre-saturated with oxygen, the temperature dependence of catalytic activity was significantly differe though the maximum efficiency was still as much as 20% at 900 K.