Using a periodic slab-model density-functional approach we compared the decomposition of ethylene on the M(1 1 1) surfaces of the transition metals M = Pd, Pt, Rh, and Ni. The set of model reactions included four dehydrogenation steps and one final C-C bond breaking: C(2)H(4) (ethylene) --> C(2)H(3) (vinyl) --> C(2)H(2) (acetylene) --> C(2)H (ethynyl) --> C(2) (carbon dimer) --> C + C. The dehydrogenation steps of ethylene and vinyl are more facile than those of acetylene and ethynyl. Dehydrogenation reactions occur easier, both kinetically and thermodynamically, on Ni(1 1 1) and Rh(1 1 1) than on Pd(1 1 1) and Pt(1 11). C(2) decomposition is an exothermic process on Pd(1 1 1), Pt(1 1 1). and Rh(1 1 1), whereas the formation of C(2), a precursor of graphene and coke, is kinetically and thermodynamically most plausible on Ni(1 1 1). The calculated results reveal trends of the binding energies (BE) of the species on the four metals in the order BE(C(2)H(4)) < BE(C(2)H(2)) < BE(C(2)H(3)) < BE(C(2)H) < BE(C(2)) < BE(C). The binding energies of ethylene and vinyl are largest on Pt(1 1 1) while other species with a lower hydrogen content exhibit the largest BE values on the surfaces Rh(1 1 1) and Ni(1 1 1). We also explored the effect of coverage on the binding energies. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.