The activity of ruthenium, palladium, and nickel catalysts for the hydrogenation of 1,2-dihydroacenaphthylene in cyclohexane solution was studied at temperatures up to 180 °C and pressures up to 8 MPa. The GC-MS technique was used to identify most of the perhydroacenaphthylene stereoisomers, whose fractions in the product were found dependent on the nature of the active component of the catalyst. The hydrogenation was fastest on the palladium catalyst (3% Pd/C). The nickel catalyst Ni-NiO/Al2O3, which is sufficiently active also after repeated use, can be recommended for practical application. The activation energy of 1,2-dihydroacenaphthylene hydrogenation using this catalyst is 17 kJ/mol, the reaction order with respect to hydrogen is unity.
