Adsorbates on Cu relevant for methanol synthesis

Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts are used for the synthesis of methanol from syngas at 220–300 ºC and 5–10 MPa. Cu is used because it is the most effective catalyst for the methanol synthesis due to its high activity and excellent stability under the reaction conditions. At low temperature the reaction proceeds by hydrogenation of CO2 to formate and then with addition of hydrogen to methoxy and finally to methanol. In this proposal we wish to investigate physisorbed methanol and chemisorbed methoxy on Raney Cu and the commercial catalyst. Comparison of the two sets of results will allow a determination as to where methoxide is located on the commercial material: whether it is just on the copper or is also present on the other components. This will directly feed into DFT studies of the reaction pathway that are being carried out in parallel at Lincoln.