Bacterial cellulose-assisted hydrothermal synthesis and catalytic performance of La2CuO4 nanofiber for methanol steam reforming

The perovskite-structured La2CuO4 nanocrystals with a fiber-like morphology were fabricated with bacterial cellulose nanofibers as the templates at a hydrothermal temperature of 120 °C. The La2CuO4 nanofibers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), N2 adsorption (BET). The catalytic performance of the La2CuO4 nanofiber was evaluated for steam reforming of methanol (SRM). At the low temperature of 200 °C methanol was completely converted into hydrogen and CO2, without the generation of CO. Compared with La2CuO4 bulk powder, La2CuO4 nanofibers showed better catalytic activity for the SRM reaction. It is concluded that the special structure and unique morphology of the La2CuO4 nanofibers with larger specific area, are responsible for their excellent performance in catalyzing the SRM.