Effect of the Zr/Al Molar Ratio on the Performance of Cu/ZrO2–Al2O3 Catalysts for Methanol Steam Reforming

Abstract

Methanol steam reforming was widely used to produce hydrogen for fuel cells. Copper-based catalysts are popular because of its low price and high activity, whereas high selectivity to H2 is highly expected. Herein, copper-based catalysts with different Zr/Al molar ratios were prepared by the impregnation method. It was found that the 5 wt % Cu/ZrO2–8Al2O3 catalyst exhibited high activity with methanol conversion of 84.5%, hydrogen production rate of 98.7 μmol/gcat·s, and the lowest carbon monoxide selectivity of 1.5% because it had the smallest copper particle size, high medium-strong basic site, and high surface (Cu1+ + Cu0) proportion. The results of in situ FT-IR indicated that formate species might be important intermediates for H2 production.