Catalytic chemical reaction processes have played a major role in the growth of today's international economy. Because of this impact. technologies that reduce the development time of new catalyst materials are highly sought. We describe a new experimental system for the characterization of candidate catalysts that exploits the many advantages of microfabricated chemical devices. The core component of the system is it silicon microreactor in which the reaction of study is executed under highly controlled conditions. The system was used to acquire data on it model hydrocarbon hydrogenation reaction over platinum catalyst. The measured values of turnover frequency and reaction probability compare well with the literature and illustrate the value of the system as it tool for rapid and efficient catalyst development.