Reactive metal-support interaction in the Cu-In2O3 system: intermetallic compound formation and its consequences for CO2-selective methanol steam reforming

The reactive metal-support interaction in the Cu-In2O3 system and its implications on the CO2 selectivity in methanol steam reforming (MSR) have been assessed using nanosized Cu particles on a powdered cubic In2O3 support. Reduction in hydrogen at 300 °C resulted in the formation of metallic Cu particles on In2O3. This system already represents a highly CO2-selective MSR catalyst with ~93% selectivity, but only 56% methanol conversion and a maximum H2 formation rate of 1.3 µmol gCu−1 s−1. After reduction at 400 °C, the system enters an In2O3-supported intermetallic compound state with Cu2In as the majority phase. Cu2In exhibits markedly different self-activating properties at equally pronounced CO2 selectivities between 92% and 94%. A methanol conversion improvement from roughly 64% to 84% accompanied by an increase in the maximum hydrogen formation rate from 1.8 to 3.8 µmol gCu−1 s−1 has been observed from the first to the fourth consecutive runs. The presented results directly show the prospective properties of a new class of Cu-based intermetallic materials, beneficially combining the MSR properties of the catalyst’s constituents Cu and In2O3. In essence, the results also open up the pathway to in-depth development of potentially CO2-selective bulk intermetallic Cu-In compounds with well-defined stoichiometry in MSR.