Methanol steam reforming performance and catalytic mechanism of bimetal-loaded cerium oxide-based thermal catalysts

Abstract

An activity evaluation was performed for the replacement of the noble metal Pt with non-precious metal active species while maintaining catalytic performance in methanol steam reforming. In this study, bimetallic cerium oxide-supported catalysts (Pt_xM_10−x/N-CeO₂) were prepared using Pt and non-precious metals. Among these catalysts, the Pt–Fe system exhibited the highest reforming performance. At 180 °C, the H₂ production rate reached 17.29 mmol g_cat⁻¹·h⁻¹, with a CO selectivity of 15.58% and methanol conversion of 1.07%. Results indicated that the introduction of Fe effectively increased the specific surface area and the amount of lattice oxygen on the catalyst surface while promoting the formation of abundant oxygen vacancies. Under optimal reforming conditions, Pt₅Fe₅/N-CeO₂ showed the lowest energy consumption and the best reforming performance. Furthermore, based on the thermodynamic analysis of the methanol steam reforming reaction, the corresponding reaction pathways and catalytic mechanisms were proposed.