A non-syn-gas catalytic route to methanol production.

Journal article

Methanol is an important platform molecule for chemical synthesis and its high energy density also renders it a good candidate as a cleaner transportation fuel. At present, methanol is manufactured from natural gas via the indirect syn-gas route. Here we show that ethylene glycol, a versatile chemical derived from biomass or fossil fuels, can be directly converted to methanol in hydrogen with high selectivity over a Pd/Fe(2)O(3) co-precipitated catalyst. This opens up a possibility for diversification in natural resources for energy-starved countries. The working catalyst contains extremely small 'PdFe' clusters and metal adatoms on defective iron oxide to give the required metal-support interaction for the novel synthesis.

Authors: Wu, C; Yu, K; Liao, F; Young, N; Nellist, P

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Nature communications
• Volume: 3
• Pages: 1050
• Publication date: 2012-01-01
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2053
• EISSN: 2041-1723
• ISSN: 2041-1723
• Language: English