In manufacturing methyl ethyl ketone by dehydrogenation of secondary-butyl alcohol, the hydrogen treatment of zinc oxide enhances the catalytic activity and the selectivity with decreasing dehydration reaction. Also, the catalyst lifetime of hydrogen treated zinc oxide is much longer than that of nonhydrogen-treated zinc oxide.
But, excessive hydrogen treatment of zinc oxide catalyst leads to the cluster phenomenon to form zinc crystallite which results in deactivation of dehydrogenation reaction.