Low-temperature production of hydrogen from water and methanol over MOF-based catalysts

The use of methanol to promote Hydrogen Power is highly attractive because it is inexpensive and can reform itself with water to release H2 with a high gravimetric density of 18.8 percent by weight. We have integrated dual active sites (Pt and Zn) into a porous metal-organic framework (MOF) scaffold to fabricate a new multifunctional catalyst to drive the efficient production of H2 at low-temperature through aqueous-phase reforming of methanol (APRM). We request 6 days on TOSCA to study the binding dynamics of methanol and intermediates over the highly active catalyst (PtZn@UiO-bpy). The proposed study will investigate the vibrational spectroscopy of the catalyst, adsorption of guest methanol and H2O molecules and any possible reaction intermediates on active sites. This study aims to reveal the role of Pt and Zn sites in the binding and activation of guest methanol molecules, giving direct insights into the efficient APRM reaction. This recently-discovered multifunctional catalyst by our group exhibits extremely very high selectivity and activity for the conversion of methanol and H2O to H2 with significant potential commercial value.