Gas induced surface reconstruction of CuZnSi catalyst for methanol synthesis

Reconstruction of heterogeneous catalyst is essential for understanding the structure-performance relationship, however, it still remains limitations of the methodology development. Herein we reveal a gas induced activation strategy to reconstruct the surface of CuZnO x /mSi catalyst through pretreating it in various environments, including CO, H 2 , and H 2 &CO mixture. Specifically, high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy as well as elemental distribution analysis disclosed that H 2 pretreatment successfully induced the formation of active Cu nanoparticles which uniformly dispersed on amorphous ZnO layer, whereas CO pretreatment led to the reconstruction of Cu nanoparticles/cluster, resulting in the formation of CuC x nanofibers under the high temperature reaction environment. The catalytic activity of the H 2 -treated CuZnO x /mSi-H 2 is about three times higher than that of the CO-treated CuZnO x /mSi-CO for methanol synthesis. This gas atmosphere induced catalyst reconstruction strategy might pave the way for the rational catalyst design with precise active phase.