Stabilization of Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 catalyst for methanol steam reforming to hydrogen by coprecipitation on zirconia support

•Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 catalyst supported on a ZrO2 has been prepared.•Cu sintering in Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 is suppressed in the presence of the ZrO2 support.•Cu dispersion is high in comparison with Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 without the support.•Despite low Cu content, the composite catalyst is active and durable.

Catalytic activity of Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 for methanol steam reforming to hydrogen is stabilized by coprecipitation of Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 on a zirconia support. The coprecipitate coarsely covers the surface of the support while the particle structure is similar to that without the support. Deactivation of Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 in methanol steam reforming at 400 or 500 °C is mitigated in the presence of the support which suppresses the sintering of Cu particles. Although the Cu content of a supported catalyst is a half of that without the support, the activity of the supported catalyst is appreciably higher after the reaction at 400 °C for 5 h due to the higher Cu dispersion and surface activity.

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