Acetophenone hydrogenation on Rh/Al 2 O 3 catalyst: Intrinsic reaction kinetics and effects of internal diffusion

•Kinetics of acetophenone hydrogenation on Rh/Al2O3 catalyst was determined.•Pore diffusion effects were investigated by modeling and experiments.•Metal loading, dispersion and eggshell depths of catalysts were determined.•Intrinsic kinetics was used to analyze pore diffusion–reaction effects.