Synthesis, characterization, and methanol steam reforming performance for hydrogen production on perovskite-type oxides SrCo1-xCuxO3-δ

The perovskite-type metal oxides SrCo1-xCuxO3-delta (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1) powders, synthesized by ethyl-enediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) sol-gel method, were investigated for hydrogen production from methanol steam reforming (MSR). The synthesized catalysts were characterized by a scanning X-ray diffraction (XRD), an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific area (BET), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS results reveal that the perovskite structure of the catalyst sample after reduction treatment is destroyed, resulting in significant changes in oxygen species and the element chemical environment, which is consistent with the XRD results. The experimental results show that the doping content of cobalt and the reaction conditions have affect the catalytic performance of the catalysts. SrC0.08Cu0.2O3-delta displays the maximum hydrogen production (about 4.6 x 10(3) mol/gcat/min). The Co-doping in the B-site may have an influence on the water-gas shift reaction, which leads to changes in the CO/CO2 selectivity in the gas products. The optimum reaction conditions (the reaction temperature = 600 degrees C; the molar ratio of water to methanol (W/M) = 2: 1; the feed flow rate = 3 ml/h) with the best comprehensive catalytic performance were determined by MSR experiments. In addition, the morphological characteristics of porous structure, small particle size, and rough surface contribute to the improvement of the catalytic performance of the catalyst in the MSR for H-2 production.

Automated summary

In this study, a series of SrCo1-xCuxO3-delta catalysts were synthesized and characterized. The results revealed that the doping of cobalt and copper, as well as the reaction conditions, have an impact on the catalyst performance. Among the catalysts tested, SrC0.08Cu0.2O3-delta exhibited the highest hydrogen production rate in the MSR process. Additionally, the porous structure, small particle size, and rough surface of the catalyst also contributed to the improved catalytic performance.