CO2-selective methanol steam reforming on In-doped Pd studied by in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

PdIn intermetallic phases can be switched in methanol steam reforming between a CO2-selective multilayer and an In-diluted phase by annealing at 453K or 623K. [Display omitted] ► A multilayer Pd1In1 phase in MSR is highly CO2-selective between 493 and 623K. ► An In-diluted PdIn intermetallic phase yields CO formation via full methanol dehydrogenation. ► Higher reaction temperatures are needed for comparable CO2-TOF values as on supported PdIn/In2O3. ► A bimetal-oxide synergism for efficient CO2 formation is operative. In situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (in situ XPS) was used to study the structural and catalytic properties of Pd–In near-surface intermetallic phases in correlation with previously studied PdZn and PdGa. Room temperature deposition of ∼4 monolayer equivalents (MLEs) of In metal on Pd foil and subsequent annealing to 453K in vacuum yields a ∼1:1 Pd/In near-surface multilayer intermetallic phase. This Pd1In1 phase exhibits a similar “Cu-like” electronic structure and indium depth distribution as its methanol steam reforming (MSR)-selective multilayer Pd1Zn1 counterpart. Catalytic characterization of the multilayer Pd1In1 phase in MSR yielded a CO2-selectivity of almost 100% between 493 and 550K. In contrast to previously studied In2O3-supported PdIn nanoparticles and pure In2O3, intermediate formaldehyde is only partially converted to CO2 using this Pd1In1 phase. Strongly correlated with PdZn, on an In-diluted PdIn intermetallic phase with “Pd-like” electronic structure, prepared by thermal annealing at 623K, methanol steam reforming is suppressed and enhanced CO formation via full methanol dehydrogenation is observed. To achieve CO2-TOF values on the isolated Pd1In1 intermetallic phase as high as on supported PdIn/In2O3, at least 593K reaction temperature is required. A bimetal-oxide synergism, with both bimetallic and oxide synergistically contributing to the observed catalytic activity and selectivity, manifests itself by accelerated formaldehyde-to-CO2 conversion at markedly lowered temperatures as compared to separate oxide and bimetal. Combination of suppression of full methanol dehydrogenation to CO on Pd1In1 inhibited inverse water–gas-shift reaction on In2O3 and fast water activation/conversion of formaldehyde is the key to the low-temperature activity and high CO2-selectivity of the supported catalyst.