Methanol synthesis on Cu—Zn—Al and Cu—Zn—Al—Mn catalysts Original Research Article

Cu—Zn—Al and Cu—Zn—Al—Mn catalysts, used for methanol synthesis, are prepared by a high speed collision coprecipitation method. The methanol yields are 28.4 and 33.8 mol/l.cat.h over the ternary and quaternary catalysts, respectively. TPR, H2-TPD, SEM and FT-IR techniques are used in the study of the catalysts. The results indicated that Mn is favorable for the dispersion of copper in the catalysts, preventing the copper particles from sintering. The diffuse reflectance FT-IR spectra suggested that the formate might be the intermediate in the methanol synthesis.