Bond-order conservation-Morse potential (BOC-MP) model has been used to study the energetics of acrolein hydrogenation on Pt(1 1 1) and Ag(1 1 1) surfaces. For hydrogenation at low coverage of acrolein (theta = 1/9), the model predicts an overall low activity for acrolein conversion and a lower selectivity for the formation of allyl alcohol. At higher acrolein coverage (theta = 1/4), however, the total activity increases and the selectivity for the allyl alcohol is improved compared to its magnitude at low coverage. The results are in qualitative agreement with the experimental results on hydrogenation of similar alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde on Pt surfaces indicating steric hindrance for the C=C bond hydrogenation at higher coverages. As for hydrogenation on Ag(1 1 1) surface, the energetics predict relatively higher selectivity for allyl alcohol compared to the selectivity on Pt(1 1 1) surface. The predictions are critically discussed with reference to the available experimental results. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.