Premium
Modification of Cu/SiO 2 Catalysts by La 2 O 3 to Quantitatively Tune Cu + ‐Cu 0 Dual Sites with Improved Catalytic Activities and Stabilities for Dimethyl Ether Steam Reforming
Author(s) -
Huang Jingjing,
Ding Tong,
Ma Kui,
Cai Jinmeng,
Sun Zhirui,
Tian Ye,
Jiang Zheng,
Zhang Jing,
Zheng Lirong,
Li Xingang
Publication year - 2018
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.201800421
Subject(s) - catalysis , copper , lanthanum , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , metal , inorganic chemistry , dimethyl ether , selectivity , chemistry , extended x ray absorption fine structure , materials science , chemical engineering , absorption spectroscopy , metallurgy , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering , biochemistry
Dimethyl ether steam reforming (DME SR) is a promising route to provide H 2 for on‐board H 2 ‐based fuel cells. Herein, we synthesized the La 2 O 3 ‐modified Cu/SiO 2 catalyst with dual copper species of Cu 0 and Cu + for DME SR, which exhibits both the high catalytic performance and long‐term stability. The strong electron donor‐acceptor interaction between the lanthanum and copper species occurs after reduction of the catalysts, which is an essential factor to quantitatively determine the ratio of Cu + /(Cu 0 +Cu + ). The addition of La can improve the dispersion of both metallic Cu and Cu 2 O on the catalysts, as well. After modulating the ratio of Cu + /(Cu 0 +Cu + ) to ∼0.5 by varying the La loading, we achieved the highest activity and lowest CO selectivity. After the durability tests, the results of TEM, EXAFS, and XPS reveal that the addition of La on the Cu/SiO 2 catalysts not only stabilizes the copper species from aggregation, especially for the metallic Cu, but also avoids over‐reduction of the Cu + species to Cu 0 . The constant ratio of Cu + /(Cu 0 +Cu + ) on the La‐modified Cu/SiO 2 catalyst ensures the high catalytic stability in DME SR.