Active sites in Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 catalysts for methanol synthesis from CO/H2

Among various Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalysts with the Cu/Zn ratio of 3/7, the one with 15 wt.% of ZrO₂ obtains the best activity for methanol synthesis by hydrogenation of CO. The TPR, TPO and XPS analyses reveal that a new copper oxide phase is formed in the calcined Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalysts by the dissolution of zirconium ions in copper oxide. In addition, the Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalyst with 15 wt.% of ZrO₂ turns out to contain the largest amount of the new copper oxide phase. When the Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalysts is reduced, the Cu²⁺ species present in the ZrO₂ lattice is transformed to Cu⁺ species. This leads to the speculation that the addition of ZrO₂ to Cu/ZnO catalysts gives rise to the formation of Cu⁺ species, which is related to the methanol synthesis activity of Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalyst in addition to Cu metal particles. Consequently, the ratio of Cu⁺/Cu⁰ is an important factor for the specific activity of Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalyst for methanol synthesis.