Regensburg 2022 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 52: Poster Wednesday: Adsorption and Catalysis 2
O 52.12: Poster
Wednesday, September 7, 2022, 18:00–20:00, P4
Operando studies of CuZn catalysts for methanol synthesis — •David Kordus1,2, Nuria Jimenez Divins2, Janis Timoshenko1, and Beatriz Roldan Cuenya1 — 1Departement of Interface Science, Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society — 2Departement of Physics, Ruhr University Bochum
Methanol is an essential feedstock for the chemical industry and may be a key component when switching to renewable resources. Industrially methanol production uses a ternary Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst. Especially the interaction between Cu and ZnO is critical for a high activity of the catalyst. Multiple model catalysts were synthesized to target different aspects of this system, but particularly the Cu-ZnO interactions. In-situ and operando spectroscopy methods (XAS, XPS, Raman) together with microscopy and measurements of the catalytic performance allow us to follow the chemical and structural changes of the catalysts under reaction conditions. We investigated size-selected Cu and CuZn nanoparticles on multiple support materials (SiO2, Al2O3 and ZnO/Al2O3) to obtain a better insight into particle-support interactions. These studies show that the formation of metallic Zn for CuZn particles on SiO2 is detrimental for the catalysts activity, as it coincides with a deactivation. On Al2O3 in contrast, ZnO is incorporated into the support and forms a spinel structure similar to ZnAl2O4. In another catalyst shaped Cu particles are used to create preferential facets on the surface of our catalysts. These unalike surface structures will then lead to different catalytic behavior. Here, a higher activity was observed for cubic particles.