Open Access

Nature Communications, volume 11, issue 1, publication number 3898

Identifying the nature of the active sites in methanol synthesis over Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts

Daniel Laudenschleger ¹

Holger Ruland ²

Martin Muhler ^{1, 2}

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Laboratory of Industrial Chemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, Bochum, Germany |

Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Mülheim an Der Ruhr, Germany |

Publication type: Journal Article

Publication date: 2020-08-04

Springer Nature

Journal: Nature Communications

Quartile SCImago

Quartile WOS

Impact factor: 16.6

ISSN: 20411723, 20411723

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17631-5

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General Chemistry

General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

General Physics and Astronomy

Abstract

The heterogeneously catalysed reaction of hydrogen with carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide (syngas) to methanol is nearly 100 years old, and the standard methanol catalyst Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 has been applied for more than 50 years. Still, the nature of the Zn species on the metallic Cu0 particles (interface sites) is heavily debated. Here, we show that these Zn species are not metallic, but have a positively charged nature under industrial methanol synthesis conditions. Our kinetic results are based on a self-built high-pressure pulse unit, which allows us to inject selective reversible poisons into the syngas feed passing through a fixed-bed reactor containing an industrial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst under high-pressure conditions. This method allows us to perform surface-sensitive operando investigations as a function of the reaction conditions, demonstrating that the rate of methanol formation is only decreased in CO2-containing syngas mixtures when pulsing NH3 or methylamines as basic probe molecules. Methanol synthesis has a high potential for global CO2 reduction. Here, the authors identify the oxidation state of the zinc sites on the metallic copper particles as partially positive for an industrial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst under high-pressure reaction conditions.

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Citations by journals

	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Journal of the American Chemical Society	Journal of the American Chemical Society, 9, 7.38% Journal of the American Chemical Society 9 publications, 7.38%
ACS Catalysis	ACS Catalysis, 8, 6.56% ACS Catalysis 8 publications, 6.56%
Journal of Physical Chemistry C	Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 6, 4.92% Journal of Physical Chemistry C 6 publications, 4.92%
Catalysts	Catalysts, 5, 4.1% Catalysts 5 publications, 4.1%
Journal of Catalysis	Journal of Catalysis, 5, 4.1% Journal of Catalysis 5 publications, 4.1%
Fuel	Fuel, 4, 3.28% Fuel 4 publications, 3.28%
Angewandte Chemie	Angewandte Chemie, 4, 3.28% Angewandte Chemie 4 publications, 3.28%
Angewandte Chemie - International Edition	Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, 4, 3.28% Angewandte Chemie - International Edition 4 publications, 3.28%
ChemCatChem	ChemCatChem, 4, 3.28% ChemCatChem 4 publications, 3.28%
Nature Communications	Nature Communications, 3, 2.46% Nature Communications 3 publications, 2.46%
Chemical Reviews	Chemical Reviews, 3, 2.46% Chemical Reviews 3 publications, 2.46%
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research	Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 3, 2.46% Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 3 publications, 2.46%
Journal of Materials Chemistry A	Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 3, 2.46% Journal of Materials Chemistry A 3 publications, 2.46%
Topics in Catalysis	Topics in Catalysis, 2, 1.64% Topics in Catalysis 2 publications, 1.64%
Catalysis Letters	Catalysis Letters, 2, 1.64% Catalysis Letters 2 publications, 1.64%
Applied Surface Science	Applied Surface Science, 2, 1.64% Applied Surface Science 2 publications, 1.64%
ACS applied materials & interfaces	ACS applied materials & interfaces, 2, 1.64% ACS applied materials & interfaces 2 publications, 1.64%
Catalysis Science and Technology	Catalysis Science and Technology, 2, 1.64% Catalysis Science and Technology 2 publications, 1.64%
Chem Catalysis	Chem Catalysis, 2, 1.64% Chem Catalysis 2 publications, 1.64%
EES Catalysis	EES Catalysis, 2, 1.64% EES Catalysis 2 publications, 1.64%
Waste	Waste, 1, 0.82% Waste 1 publication, 0.82%
Nature Catalysis	Nature Catalysis, 1, 0.82% Nature Catalysis 1 publication, 0.82%
Rare Metals	Rare Metals, 1, 0.82% Rare Metals 1 publication, 0.82%
Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering	Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 1, 0.82% Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 1 publication, 0.82%
Catalysis Today	Catalysis Today, 1, 0.82% Catalysis Today 1 publication, 0.82%
Chemosphere	Chemosphere, 1, 0.82% Chemosphere 1 publication, 0.82%
Chinese Chemical Letters	Chinese Chemical Letters, 1, 0.82% Chinese Chemical Letters 1 publication, 0.82%
Industrial Crops and Products	Industrial Crops and Products, 1, 0.82% Industrial Crops and Products 1 publication, 0.82%
Applied Catalysis B: Environmental	Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 1, 0.82% Applied Catalysis B: Environmental 1 publication, 0.82%
	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Citations by publishers

	5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
American Chemical Society (ACS)	American Chemical Society (ACS), 37, 30.33% American Chemical Society (ACS) 37 publications, 30.33%
Elsevier	Elsevier, 32, 26.23% Elsevier 32 publications, 26.23%
Wiley	Wiley, 20, 16.39% Wiley 20 publications, 16.39%
Springer Nature	Springer Nature, 10, 8.2% Springer Nature 10 publications, 8.2%
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)	Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), 10, 8.2% Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) 10 publications, 8.2%
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)	Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 6, 4.92% Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) 6 publications, 4.92%
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)	American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2, 1.64% American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2 publications, 1.64%
Nonferrous Metals Society of China	Nonferrous Metals Society of China, 1, 0.82% Nonferrous Metals Society of China 1 publication, 0.82%
Chemical Industry Press	Chemical Industry Press, 1, 0.82% Chemical Industry Press 1 publication, 0.82%
Institution of Chemical Engineers	Institution of Chemical Engineers, 1, 0.82% Institution of Chemical Engineers 1 publication, 0.82%
American Institute of Physics (AIP)	American Institute of Physics (AIP), 1, 0.82% American Institute of Physics (AIP) 1 publication, 0.82%
Autonomous Non-profit Organization Editorial Board of the journal Uspekhi Khimii	Autonomous Non-profit Organization Editorial Board of the journal Uspekhi Khimii, 1, 0.82% Autonomous Non-profit Organization Editorial Board of the journal Uspekhi Khimii 1 publication, 0.82%
	5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

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Laudenschleger D. et al. Identifying the nature of the active sites in methanol synthesis over Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts // Nature Communications. 2020. Vol. 11. No. 1. 3898

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Laudenschleger D., Ruland H., Muhler M. Identifying the nature of the active sites in methanol synthesis over Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts // Nature Communications. 2020. Vol. 11. No. 1. 3898

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RIS Copy

TY - JOUR

DO - 10.1038/s41467-020-17631-5

UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17631-5

TI - Identifying the nature of the active sites in methanol synthesis over Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts

T2 - Nature Communications

AU - Laudenschleger, Daniel

AU - Ruland, Holger

AU - Muhler, Martin

PY - 2020

DA - 2020/08/04 00:00:00

PB - Springer Nature

IS - 1

VL - 11

SN - 2041-1723

ER -

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@article{2020_Laudenschleger,

author = {Daniel Laudenschleger and Holger Ruland and Martin Muhler},

title = {Identifying the nature of the active sites in methanol synthesis over Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts},

journal = {Nature Communications},

year = {2020},

volume = {11},

publisher = {Springer Nature},

month = {aug},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17631-5},

number = {1},

doi = {10.1038/s41467-020-17631-5}

}

Found error?

Publisher

Springer Nature

Journal

Nature Communications

Quartile SCImago

Quartile WOS

Impact factor

16.6

ISSN

20411723 (Print)
20411723 (Electronic)