Assessing the usefulness of transition metal carbides for hydrogenation reactions.

Transition Metal Carbides (TMCs) are proposed as replacements for and expensive late Transition Metals (TMs) as heterogeneous catalysts, often implying hydrogenation reactions or steps. Present density functional theory based calculations support using group IV TMCs and δ-MoC as viable TM alternatives, given the moderate exoergicity and affordable reaction step energy barriers.