Theoretical studies of CO hydrogenation to methanol over Cu, Pd, and Pt metals

Theoretical studies of CO hydrogenation to methanol over Cu, Pd, and Pt metals have been carried out using a quasi-relativistic density-functional method. The metal surface is simulated by a M-10 cluster model. Reaction energies for the elementary steps involved are determined. The activation energies are estimated by the analytic BOC-MP formula. The results support that these metals are active in CO hydrogenation to methanol. The rate-determining steps are shown to be different for the metals. The highest activation energies of reaction on the metals fall in the order Cu<Pd<Pt, which corresponds to the order of the catalytic activities of the metals in CO hydrogenation.