Solid-phase catalytic hydrogenation of D-ribose with tritium was studied in relation to the temperature (varied in the range 90 3130oC), platinum-group catalysts, and solid phase composition. Based on the results obtained, general approaches to synthesis of tritium-labeled ribose were formulated.Solid-phase reactions of organic compounds (or reactions without solvent) are actively studied and widely used. A prominent place among them is occupied by reactions of organic compounds with hydrogen. These reactions are widely used for preparing compounds labeled with hydrogen isotopes. Solidphase reactions are performed by mixing a heterogeneous catalyst with an organic substrate, placing the mixture in a hydrogen atmosphere, and heating to a definite temperature to accelerate the reaction. These reactions without solvent differ in the features and mechanism from those occurring in solution. There are numerous data in the literature on reaction of various supported compounds with active hydrogen species formed on metal catalysts. Furthermore, activated hydrogen shows enhanced mobility on inert supports [1]. The transfer of active hydrogen species from one phase to another was termed hydrogen spillover. Just hydrogen (or tritium) spillover determines the feasibility of solid-phase hydrogenolysis. The mathematical model of spillover was considered in [23 4]. It suggests that formation of spillover hydrogen species occurs on a metal source and the support transports these active species to the substrate and back. Filikov et al. [4] constructed the diffusion kinetic models of hydrogenolysis of a supported organic substrate, taking into account the concentration gradient of spillover hydrogen and the catalyst poisoning in the course of the reaction. It was shown that the hydrogenation occurs essentially in the reaction zones around the metal catalyst crystallites and hence there is a certain ratio of the catalyst, support, and substrate, optimal for a given reaction. Certain arguments have been put forward in favor of both atomic and protonic nature of spillover hydrogen species. It is commonly believed that the first step of the process is homolytic cleavage of the H3H bond on the metal, irrespective of whether hydrogen atoms or protons actually participate in the spillover. The limiting step of the spillover may be either surface diffusion on the acceptor or transfer of the species from the initiator to the acceptor. As the activation energy of these elementary steps may be different, the limiting step of the spillover may change with temperature [5]. It is the most common opinion that the hydrogen spillover is limited by diffusion over the support surface [6].Solid-phase catalytic reactions are characterized by a large number of variable parameters (pressure, temperature, time, substrate/catalyst ratio, metal content in the supported catalyst, specific surface area of the support, extent of metal dispersity, etc.), which complicates prediction of the optimal reaction conditions. Therefore, elucidation of the reaction me...