Alcohol-Induced Strong Metal-Support Interactions in a Supported Copper/ZnO Catalyst

Tuning the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) in metal catalysts is a promising strategy to improve their catalytic performance. In this article, we systematically investigated the influences of different alcohol/water mixtures on the evolution of the interfacial structure of Cu/ZnO catalysts in the reduction stage. A series of in situ characterization and theoretical simulation studies were performed to elucidate the various mechanisms of alcohol induced SMSI. It was found that when methanol/water is added to H-2 during the reduction pretreatment, more oxygen vacancies are formed on the ZnO support, which facilitates the dissociation of H2O and the hydroxylation of ZnO species. Such promotion eventually favors the SMSI between Cu and ZnO and increases the catalytic activity for the methanol steam reforming reaction. In contrast, the addition of ethanol/water and 1-propanol/water during reduction leads to a physical blockage of the catalyst by alcohol molecules, poisoning the active Cu sites and limiting the migration of ZnO species.