Pd-Zn/Cu-Zn-Al catalysts prepared for methanol oxidation reforming in microchannel reactors

Methanol oxidation reforming is an important reaction in the process of hydrogen generation for PEMFC. In this paper, we report the wall coated catalysts in a microchannel reactor for methanol oxidation reforming. The preparation method of the wall coating catalyst was studied in detail, i.e., the sol–gel and solution-coating techniques. To prepare the catalysts for methanol oxidation reforming, the washing-coating layer of CuZnAl was prepared by the sol–gel technique, and then the active layer was coated on it by solution-coating technique with emulsion colloid containing Pd–ZnO particles. Both the supporting layer and catalyst on the stainless steel foils were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The formed wash-coating layer with ordered arrays of petaloid microcrystallites in layer surface and Pd–Zn alloy crystal phase can be clearly observed. The reaction experimental results indicated that the catalyst prepared have high activity and relatively high stability.