Influence of Pd Particle Synthesis and ZnO Morphology on Pd/ZnO Methanol Steam Reforming Activity

1. Patrick D. Burton University of New Mexico Center for Micro-Engineered Materials PI: Dr. Abhaya Datye Research Goal: Synthesize Pd nanoparticles and deposit on various ZnO facets and morphologies to study the catalytic activities of the resultant Pd/ZnO catalysts. Payoff: Improve Pd/ZnO catalysts by ultimately determining the role of ZnO Influence of Pd Particle Synthesis and ZnO Morphology on Pd/ZnO Methanol Steam Reforming Activity Figure 1. Typical structure of ZnO. Figure 2. Methanol conversion data for different catalysts. Approach: Use different types of ZnO (including Aldrich ZnO, Alfa ZnO, ZnO plates, and etched ZnO) to make Pd/ZnO catalysts via incipient wetness technique Characterize the catalysts using SEM, TEM, XRD, BET, and methanol steam reforming Results: -Uniform Pd particles were deposited onto supports -Pd on etched ZnO showed poor activity -Pd on faceted ZnO (1010) surfaces have the best activity at 5% loading -Pd on faceted ZnO (0001) surfaces have good activity only at a high loading -Selectivity was not greatly affected by type of ZnO support