Endotaxially Anchoring MetalAlloy Nanoparticles for Methanol Synthesis and Steam Reforming

Endotaxially Anchoring MetalAlloy Nanoparticles for Methanol Synthesis and Steam Reforming Endotaxially Anchoring Metal/Alloy Nanoparticles for Methanol Synthesis and Reforming Industrial methanol, a critical molecule for the production of a variety of chemical intermediates and end products and also an energy carrier, is manufactured by catalytic conversion of synthesis gas (CO, H2 and CO2) which itself is primarily derived from reforming of natural gas. Although the industrial methanol synthesis processes are based on a Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst the fundamental mechanisms of the nature of the active sites of this catalyst is still not fully understood. The easy sintering of Cu particles and the lack of detailed understanding of the active sites pose a major challenge to improving the performance of the commercial Cu-based catalysts. By incorporating metal (e.g., Cu, Au, or Pd) nanoparticles (NPs) into the nonpolar and stable {10-10} surfaces of ZnO nanowires (NWs) the metal NPs can be endotaxially anchored and can form well-defined facets and interfaces. Such anchoring approach may significantly reduce the sintering of metal NPs, form well-defined metal NP facets and interfacial structures with the ZnO support, promote the strong metal-support interaction, and thus provide an excellent system for studying the fundamental mechanisms of the methanol synthesis or steam reforming processes. In this study, the synthesis of endotaxially anchored Cu, Au, and Pd NPs onto ZnO NWs will be accomplished. By testing the catalytic performances of these catalysts for hydrogenation of CO/CO2 to methanol, or methanol steam reforming to produce H2, and by analyzing the synthesis-structure-performance relationships we expect to gain deep insights into the fundamental understanding of the nature of the active sites for methanol synthesis and steam reforming.