Highly selective Pd–Cu/ZnAl2O4 catalyst for hydrogen production

• The PdCu alloy formation during reduction was proven.
• The presence of Cu+ and Cu0 species on the catalysts surface was confirmed by XPS.
• High selectivity of Pd–Cu catalyst to hydrogen is explained by alloy formation.

This paper deals with the study of the bimetallic Pd–Cu and monometallic Cu catalyst in steam reforming of methanol. FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and XPS techniques were used to characterize both mono and bimetallic catalysts. This study presents evidence of Pd–Cu formation in copper catalysts supported on spinel structure ZnAl2O4 during reduction in 5%H2–95%Ar mixture at 300 °C in the presence of palladium. The intermetallic compound is formed by a spillover effect between Pd and Cu.

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