Abstract
This review deals with published work on the influence of chemical composition, degree of dispersion, and method of preparation on the specific activity of metallic catalysts. In most cases the specific activity is determined by the nature of the metal, and is independent of the degree of dispersion or other parameters. This behaviour is probably due to interaction between the catalyst surface and the surrounding medium, which converts the initial catalyst surface into a state which is relatively unaffected by variations introduced during the preparation of the catalyst.
131 references.