Supported Intermetallic PdZn Nanoparticles as Bifunctional Catalysts for the Direct Synthesis of Dimethyl Ether from CO-Rich Synthesis Gas.
The single-step syngas-to-dimethyl ether (STD) process entails economic and technical advantages over the current industrial two-step process. Pd/ZnO-based catalysts have recently emerged as interesting alternatives to currently used Cu/ZnO/Al2 O3 catalysts, but the nature of the active site(s), the reaction mechanism, and the role of Pd and ZnO in the solid catalyst are not well established. Now, Zn-stabilized Pd colloids with a size of 2 nm served as the key building blocks for the methanol active component in bifunctional Pd/ZnO-γ-Al2 O3 catalysts. The catalysts were characterized by combining high-pressure operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy and DFT calculations. The enhanced stability, longevity, and high dimethyl ether selectivity observed makes Pd/ZnO-γ-Al2 O3 an effective alternative system for the STD process compared to Cu/ZnO/γ-Al2 O3 .
['Gentzen|Manuel|M|', 'Doronkin|Dmitry E|DE|', 'Sheppard|Thomas L|TL|', 'Zimina|Anna|A|', 'Li|Haisheng|H|', 'Jelic|Jelena|J|http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2701-0765', 'Studt|Felix|F|http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6841-4232', 'Grunwaldt|Jan-Dierk|JD|http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3606-0956', 'Sauer|Jörg|J|http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3133-4110', 'Behrens|Silke|S|http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4328-9564']
bifunctional catalysts Pd/Zn nanoparticles density functional calculations dimethyl ether synthesis operando XAS