ISSN 1017-2548(Print)
ISSN 2234-8530(Online)
Volume 33, Number 5
JKCSEZ 33(5)
October 20, 1989 

The synthesis of methanol from carbon dioxide and hydrogen was studied for various compositions of Cu/ZnO catalyst system. Effect of the composition ratio of CuO and ZnO on the catalytic activity in the above reaction and the relationship between the activity and the characteristics of the catalysts were explained from the result of surface area measurements, SEM, XRD, and XPS. The major products of the reaction were methanol and carbon monoxide. The selectivity to methanol increased with increase of the copper oxide content in the catalyst up to CuO: ZnO = 30:70 weight ratio, and decreased rapidly when the content is above 70%. SEM and BET measurements, indicate that this point corresponds to the increasing point of the catalyst crystallite size and the decreasing point of the surface area. As to the Cu/Cu + Zn atomic ratio, the surface concentration of copper measured by XPS decreased remarkably when the copper oxide content in catalyst was higher than 50%. All the unreduced catalysts had almost same binding energy of Cu(2P3) level, but the binding energy for Cu(2P3) level of reduced catalysts was lowered than that of calcined catalysts. The surface copper species which was in the maximum amount when the CuO:ZnO composition in the catalyst was 30:70, existed as zero valent copper. This result agreed with the experimental result that the highest rate of methanol formation was observed when the CuO content in the catalyst was 30%. It was postulated that these reduced catalysts performed with a relatively strong basicity because the formation rate of acetone was higher than that of propylene in isopropanol decomposition as measured in a pulse type reactor.