Controlled synthesis and catalytic properties of supported In–Pd intermetallic compounds

•Controlled synthesis of supported intermetallic In–Pd compounds.•High selectivity of In–Pd compounds in the steam reforming of methanol.•Long-term measurements prove the stability of In–Pd/In2O3 in MSR.

DTA/TG/MS measurements were used to investigate the temperature-dependent and successive phase formation of different intermetallic In–Pd compounds by controlled reduction of PdO/In2O3 with hydrogen. Reduction procedures were developed to obtain supported intermetallic InPd and In3Pd2 particles by reactive metal–support interaction (RMSI) without detectable amounts of other compounds. In7Pd3 could only be obtained in admixture with elemental indium due to the direct reduction of the In2O3 support at temperatures above 350 °C.All materials exhibit catalytic activity for methanol steam reforming and exhibit high CO2 selectivities up to 98%. Long-term measurements proved the superior stability of the In–Pd/In2O3 materials in comparison with Cu-based systems over 100 h times on stream with high selectivity.

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