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Facile Structure Tuning of a Methanol‐Synthesis Catalyst towards the Direct Synthesis of Dimethyl Ether from Syngas
Author(s) -
Jeong Cheonwoo,
Ham Hyungwon,
Bae Jong Wook,
Kang DongChang,
Shin ChaeHo,
Baik Joon Hyun,
Suh YoungWoong
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemcatchem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.497
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1867-3899
pISSN - 1867-3880
DOI - 10.1002/cctc.201701167
Subject(s) - dimethyl ether , syngas , bifunctional , catalysis , methanol , rational design , bifunctional catalyst , yield (engineering) , materials science , ether , chemical engineering , chemistry , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , engineering , metallurgy
Heterogeneous catalysts of bifunctionality offer improved process efficiency and enhanced product yield in multistep chemical transformations conducted in a consecutive manner. However, this has seldom been realized in coprecipitated catalysts owing to the complexity of the synthesis. By adjusting the synthesis protocol of an industrial methanol‐synthesis catalyst as a model system, herein we demonstrate the bifunctional effect of Al 2 O 3 /Cu/ZnO catalysts to enable the direct production of dimethyl ether from synthesis gas with yields that are 2–3‐fold higher than those obtained with their conventional counterparts, with a greater number of accessible Cu surface atoms and more Al 2 O 3 acid sites existing at the external particle surface. This is achieved by preparing the fully developed Cu,Zn precursor of a specific structure with surface‐decorated Al species. Our approach paves the way towards the rational design of multicomponent precipitated catalysts with tunable bifunctionality for practical cascade reactions.