An eggshell Mo2C catalyst which is designed from the rapid combination of molybdate with melamine is described. In contrast to Pd-based catalysts, the eggshell Mo2C operates effectively with a wide-concentration window in high-temperature gas phase hydrogenation of phenylacetylene, thus, an economical and energy-efficient front-end purification of styrene monomers might be possible. (c) 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 2522-2531, 2015