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Active sites for CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol on Cu/ZnO catalysts
Ist Teil von
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 2017-03, Vol.355 (6331), p.1296-1299
Ort / Verlag
Washington: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Erscheinungsjahr
2017
Link zum Volltext
Quelle
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Beschreibungen/Notizen
The active sites over commercial copper/zinc oxide/aluminum oxide (Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃) catalysts for carbon dioxide (CO₂) hydrogenation to methanol, the Zn-Cu bimetallic sites or ZnO-Cu interfacial sites, have recently been the subject of intense debate. We report a direct comparison between the activity of ZnCu and ZnO/Cu model catalysts for methanol synthesis. By combining x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, density functional theory, and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, we can identify and characterize the reactivity of each catalyst. Both experimental and theoretical results agree that ZnCu undergoes surface oxidation under the reaction conditions so that surface Zn transforms into ZnO and allows ZnCu to reach the activity of ZnO/Cu with the same Zn coverage. Our results highlight a synergy of Cu and ZnO at the interface that facilitates methanol synthesis via formate intermediates.