Premium
Supported Intermetallic PdZn Nanoparticles as Bifunctional Catalysts for the Direct Synthesis of Dimethyl Ether from CO‐Rich Synthesis Gas
Author(s) -
Gentzen Manuel,
Doronkin Dmitry E.,
Sheppard Thomas L.,
Zimina Anna,
Li Haisheng,
Jelic Jelena,
Studt Felix,
Grunwaldt JanDierk,
Sauer Jörg,
Behrens Silke
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201906256
Subject(s) - dimethyl ether , bifunctional , catalysis , methanol , intermetallic , syngas , bifunctional catalyst , materials science , selectivity , chemical engineering , chemistry , organic chemistry , metallurgy , alloy , engineering
Abstract The single‐step syngas‐to‐dimethyl ether (STD) process entails economic and technical advantages over the current industrial two‐step process. Pd/ZnO‐based catalysts have recently emerged as interesting alternatives to currently used Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 catalysts, but the nature of the active site(s), the reaction mechanism, and the role of Pd and ZnO in the solid catalyst are not well established. Now, Zn‐stabilized Pd colloids with a size of 2 nm served as the key building blocks for the methanol active component in bifunctional Pd/ZnO‐γ‐Al 2 O 3 catalysts. The catalysts were characterized by combining high‐pressure operando X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and DFT calculations. The enhanced stability, longevity, and high dimethyl ether selectivity observed makes Pd/ZnO‐γ‐Al 2 O 3 an effective alternative system for the STD process compared to Cu/ZnO/γ‐Al 2 O 3 .