Methanol Steam Reforming over ZnPt/MoC Catalysts: Effects of Hydrogen Treatment

Abstract

Molybdenum carbide-based catalysts have been utilized widely in hydrogen production from methanol steam reforming (MSR) because of their high selectivity to H₂ and low reaction temperature. However, the catalytic performance and stability for MSR are highly vulnerable to the method and condition of catalyst preparation. Here, ZnPt/MoC catalysts synthesized by different processing techniques were used for the production of hydrogen from MSR at low temperature with emphasis on the influence of hydrogen treatment on the catalytic performance and stability. These ZnPt/MoC catalysts were analyzed fully using several characterization techniques. From the results, it was found that reducing the ZnPt/MoC catalyst precursor before the carburization facilitated the formation of the α-MoC₁ – ₓ phase and enhanced the platinum dispersion on the catalyst surface, which resulted in increased catalytic performance and stability for MSR. Furthermore, after treating with flowing hydrogen at 200–400 °C, more α-MoC₁ – ₓ phase and highly dispersed platinum particles were obtained in the modified catalysts. The optimal ZnPt/MoC-p3–200 catalyst exhibited outstanding catalytic performance for MSR and extremely low CO selectivity at low reaction temperature. This study provides a perspective on the design and synthesis of stable and highly active molybdenum carbide-based catalysts for MSR.