Highly selective doped PtMgO nano-sheets for renewable hydrogen production from APR of glycerol

A series of M-doped PtMgO (M = Pd, Ir, Re, Ru, Rh and Cr) sheet-shaped nano-catalysts were synthesized by the controlled co-precipitation method. The effects of M-doping on both the physicochemical and the chemisorption characteristics of PtMgO catalysts were examined. The performance of the catalysts for the aqueous phase reforming (APR) of glycerol was also investigated. The APR activity of PtMMgO catalysts depended on the type of the M dopant used. The APR activity varied in the following order: Rh > Pd > Cr > Ir > undoped ≈ Ru > Re, with the Rh-promoted catalyst having an activity of about one order of magnitude higher than the Re-promoted catalyst at 250 °C. It was found that M-promotion had a significant effect on the reducibility of the PtMgO catalysts thus affecting their APR activity.