Reactions of linear alkenes with metal surfaces have been previously studied on model catalyst systems with varying degrees of complexity, from single crystals to metal particles deposited on well-ordered oxide films. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Based on these studies, the majority of which were conducted with ethene, it has been suggested that alkene hydrogenation is structure insensitive. This means that the reaction only depends on the number of metal atoms on the surface and is independent of the crystallographic orientation of the particle facets and particle size. These size effects are difficult to study in real catalytic systems because the mean particle size and distribution cannot be controlled accurately. Herein, we report the particle size effects on alkene reactivity (ethene and trans-2-pentene) using well-defined Pd/Al 2 O 3 model catalysts, where the particle size can be varied in a controllable manner. Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) indicated that alkene adsorption exhibits site-specific behavior, which is assigned to the reactions occurring separately on facets and on low-coordination-number atoms such as edge and corner atoms. A strong particle size effect (within the 1-5-nm range) is observed for the hydrogenation of pentene over a hydrogen-precovered surface, whereas the reaction for ethene is independent of size. These effects are explained by the reactions proceeding via di-s-bonded pentene, which is favored on the terrace sites of large particles, and p-bonded ethene.The morphology of the Pd model system has been studied intensively in our laboratory by scanning tunneling microscopy. [9,16] Thin alumina films were grown on a clean NiAl(110) single crystal, and subsequently Pd was vapordeposited onto the films (see the Experimental Section for details). An average particle size was determined from the amount of Pd deposited and could be varied within the range 1-5 nm with a narrow particle-size distribution (20 %); [16] the corresponding relationship is presented in reference [9]. To exclude any effects of morphology changes on Pd particles during TPD measurements, the samples were preannealed at 500 K before the adsorption experiments.