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

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.