Aqueous-phase reforming of methanol to hydrogen over CoAl oxide-supported Pt catalyst

A series of CoAl oxide-supported Pt catalysts (Pt/CoxAl, x = Co/Al ratio) was developed for aqueous-phase reforming of methanol to H 2 . CoxAl oxides were prepared by calcining layered double hydroxides at different temperatures. The catalytic performance of Pt/CoxAl highly depends on the Co/Al ratio and the calcination temperature. The most active Pt/Co2Al catalyst calcined at 700 °C showed an H 2 production rate of 3372 µmol H2 ·g −1 catalyst ·min −1 with low CO selectivity. The intense interaction between Pt and support and abundant oxygen vacancies results in high catalytic performance. Intensive characterization and mechanism study reveal that both Pt 0 and metallic Co 0 promote methanol decomposition. At the same time, H 2 O is activated on the support and reacts with CO to generate intermediate formate species that are further converted into CO 2 and H 2 .