Designing Cu0−Cu+ dual sites for improved C−H bond fracture towards methanol steam reforming

Hao Meng, Yusen Yang (), Tianyao Shen, Zhiming Yin, Lei Wang, Wei Liu, Pan Yin, Zhen Ren, Lirong Zheng, Jian Zhang (), Feng-Shou Xiao () and Min Wei ()
Additional contact information
Hao Meng: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Yusen Yang: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Tianyao Shen: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Zhiming Yin: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Lei Wang: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Wei Liu: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Pan Yin: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Zhen Ren: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Lirong Zheng: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jian Zhang: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Feng-Shou Xiao: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Min Wei: Beijing University of Chemical Technology

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Copper-based catalysts serve as the predominant methanol steam reforming material although several fundamental issues remain ambiguous such as the identity of active center and the aspects of reaction mechanism. Herein, we prepare Cu/Cu(Al)Ox catalysts with amorphous alumina-stabilized Cu2O adjoining Cu nanoparticle to provide Cu0−Cu+ sites. The optimized catalyst exhibits 99.5% CH3OH conversion with a corresponding H2 production rate of 110.8 μmol s−1 gcat−1 with stability over 300 h at 240 °C. A binary function correlation between the CH3OH reaction rate and surface concentrations of Cu0 and Cu+ is established based on kinetic studies. Intrinsic active sites in the catalyst are investigated with in situ spectroscopy characterization and theoretical calculations. Namely, we find that important oxygen-containing intermediates (CH3O* and HCOO*) adsorb at Cu0−Cu+ sites with a moderate adsorption strength, which promotes electron transfer from the catalyst to surface species and significantly reduces the reaction barrier of the C−H bond cleavage in CH3O* and HCOO* intermediates.

Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43679-0 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-43679-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43679-0

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().