Methanol Steam Reforming for Hydrogen Production over CuZnZrOx: Promotion Effect of Cu
Xuelian Chen, Xiang Li, Qihua Yang, Can Li
Abstract
Mixed metal oxides catalyze steam reforming of methanol (SRM) usually at reaction temperatures of >400 °C, leading to high energy consumption. Herein, we report that a small amount of Cu doping can greatly promote the activity of ZnZrO x in the SRM at low temperatures. The 2%CuZnZrO x can efficiently catalyze the SRM at temperatures as low as 300 °C to give 95.3% methanol conversion, but ZnZrO x only shows low methanol conversion (23.6%) under similar reaction conditions. Structural characterizations show that CuZnZrO x catalysts are ternary solid solutions rich in Ov, which is favorable for water activation. CuZnZrO x with low-valence Cu δ+ shows faster kinetics for the generation and decomposition of HCOOH intermediate than ZnZrO x . The co-presence of Cu δ+ and Ov contributes to the excellent performance of CuZnZrO x . These findings provide an efficient strategy for promoting the catalytic performance of metal oxides toward SRM.