Morphology and activity relationships of macroporous CuO-ZnO-ZrO catalysts for methanol synthesis from CO hydrogenation.

A series of macroporous CuO-ZnO-ZrO (CZZ) catalysts with different Zn/Zr ratios were successfully prepared by template method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N adsorption, reactive NO adsorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), H temperature-programmed reduction (H-TPR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The activity of the catalysts was tested for methanol synthesis from CO hydrogenation. It is found that the increase in the Zn/Zr ratio could lead to the sintering of the catalysts, destroying the macroporous structure integrity. The macroporous CZZ catalysts own lower Zn/Zr ratio, exhibiting a better morphology and activity. For comparison, the conventional nonporous CZZ catalysts were also investigated. The results show that the CZZ catalysts with macroporous structure own smaller particles, higher CO conversion, and CHOH yield. It reveals that the macroporous structure could inhibit the growth of the particle size, and the special porous structure is favorable for diffusion and penetration of CO, which could improve the catalytic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]