Structural studies on coal using solid state n.m.r. and mass spectrometry: 2. Catalytic hydrogenation of coal under mild conditions

Catalytic hydrogenation using Co/Mo catalyst was carried out to selectively cleave methylene bridges in coal. Hexane and benzene soluble compounds were characterized by g.c.-m.s., The structural changes in original coal and hydrogenated coal were studied by 13C CP/MAS n.m.r. supplemented by variable contact time, dipolar dephasing, inversion recovery and spin echo techniques. A good agreement has been found between the g.c.-m.s. and 13C CP/MAS n.m.r. analyses.