The sol-gel autocombustion as a route towards highly CO2-selective, active and long-term stable Cu/ZrO2 methanol steam reforming catalysts

TiO2 Supporting Cu-Au Alloy Nanoparticles for Photocatalytic Methanol Reforming to Hydrogen Production

Methanol steam reforming (MSR) is a promising approach for hydrogen production, allowing for efficient production and safe transportation of hydrogen via liquid methanol. However, it requires relatively high temperatures to achieve high activity, resulting in huge energy consumption. In this study, a plasma copper-gold alloy catalyst supported on titanium dioxide was synthesized via the impregnation method followed by high-temperature calcination. The resulting nanoparticles exhibited an average size of approximately 12 nm, and their composition was controlled by adjusting the molar ratio of the precursor materials. The synthesized CuAu-TiO2 catalyst facilitates efficient solar-driven MSR without the need for additional thermal input. The optimized catalyst achieves a continuous hydrogen production rate of 78 µmol·g-1·h-1, with a solar energy conversion efficiency of 2.66%. We determined that the maximum conversion rate under photochemical catalysis conditions can reach 90.6%. We verified that the plasmon-induced hot carriers could catalyze the methanol steam reforming reaction at temperatures significantly lower than those required for traditional thermal catalysis, releasing hydrogen. Post-reaction, the catalyst can be recovered and reactivated for repeated use. This work provides a valuable demonstration for the development and application of future light-driven clean energy conversion systems.

Advances in catalyst and reactor design for methanol steam reforming and PEMFC applications

Hydrogen (H2) is a clean energy carrier with significant potential for power and heat generation, offering a pathway to reduce emissions from fossil fuels. Over the years, various feedstocks have been explored for H2 production, addressing the storage challenges associated with hydrogen. Methanol (MeOH) has emerged as one of the most efficient hydrogen storage medium. Among the different MeOH conversion processes, steam reforming stands out for its high hydrogen selectivity. This review focuses on recent catalyst development, in particular MSR reactor design and configuration, an area that has received comparatively limited attention in previous studies. Innovative reactor configurations, such as membrane and small-scale reactors, address the limitations of traditional packed-bed units, including pressure drop, heat and mass transfer resistances, and scalability challenges. By systematically analysing various reactor configurations, we address a critical gap in existing reviews and deliver innovative strategies for process optimisation. Additionally, the integration of methanol steam reforming with fuel cell systems presents a promising solution for reducing emissions in the transport sector. The review also discusses the relevant understanding on reaction mechanisms involved, followed by both the challenges and future prospects, emphasizing the importance of evaluating not only the environmental impact of these emerging technologies but also their manufacturing and operational costs.

Advances in Enhancing the Stability of Cu-Based Catalysts for Methanol Reforming

The advent of fuel cells has led to a series of studies on hydrogen production. As an excellent hydrogen carrier, methanol can be used for reforming to produce hydrogen. Copper-based catalysts have been widely used in methanol reforming due to their high catalytic activity and low-cost preparation. However, copper-based catalysts have been subjected to poor stability due to spontaneous combustion, sintering, and deactivation. Thus, the research on the optimization of copper-based catalysts is of great significance. This review analyzes several major factors that affect the stability of copper-based catalysts, and then comments on the progress made in recent years to improve the catalytic stability through various methods, such as developing preparation methods, adding promoters, and optimizing supports. A large number of studies have shown that sintering and carbon deposition are the main reasons for the deactivation of copper-based catalysts. It was found that the catalysts prepared by the modified impregnation method exhibit higher catalytic activity and stability. For the promoters and supports, it was also found that the doping of metal oxides such as MgO and bimetallic oxides such as CeO2-ZrO2 as the support could present better catalytic performance for the methanol reforming reaction. It is of great significance to discover some new materials, such as copper-based spinel oxide, with a sustained-release catalytic mechanism for enhancing the stability of Cu-based catalysts. However, the interaction mechanism between the metal and the support is not fully understood, and the research of some new material copper-based catalysts in methanol reforming has not been fully studied. These are the problems to be solved in the future.

Hollow Mesoporous Manganese Oxides: Application in Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy

The precision, minimal invasiveness, and integration of diagnosis and treatment are critical factors for tumor treatment at the present. Although nanomedicine has shown the potential in tumor precision treatment, nanocarriers with high efficiency, excellent targeting, controlled release, and good biocompatibility still need to be further explored. Hollow mesoporous manganese oxides nanomaterials (HM-MONs), as an efficient drug delivery carrier, have attracted substantial attention in applications of tumor diagnosis and therapy due to their unique properties, such as tumor microenvironment stimuli-responsiveness, prominent catalytic activity, excellent biodegradation, and outstanding magnetic resonance imaging ability. The HM-MONs can not only enhance the therapeutic efficiency but also realize multimodal diagnosis of tumors. Consequently, it is necessary to introduce applications based on HM-MONs in cancer diagnosis and therapy. In this review, the representative progress of HM-MONs in synthesis is discussed. Then, several promising applications in drug delivery, bio-imaging, and bio-detection are highlighted. Finally, the challenges and perspectives of the anticancer applications are summarized, which is expected to provide meaningful guidance on further research.