Modulating the active phase in perovskite LaCoO₃ with B-site doping of Cu for efficient methanol reforming to produce hydrogen

Optimizing methanol reforming for hydrogen production is crucial, in which the regulation of the catalyst structure has a significant impact on improving catalytic activity. LaCoO3 perovskite is a promising catalyst for this application due to its tunable structure and exceptional thermal stability. This work reports the modulation of the active phase in the perovskite LaCo(1-x)CuxO(3) (x = 0, 0.03, 0.06, 0.12) by annealing under a H-2 atmosphere. The results of XPS, XRD, and H2-TPR reveal that Cu doping and hydrogen reduction can modify the chemical states of B-site elements. Consequently, the activity of methanol reforming for hydrogen production is considerably enhanced. The optimal performance for methanol hydrogen production observed in LaCo0.97Cu0.03O3 suffered from H-2 reduction at 300 C-degrees. This is due to the modulation of the active phase structure with appropriate redox pairs of Cu2+/Cu+, Co3+/Co2+ and O2-/O-v. This work offers valuable insights in the development of efficient catalysts for methanol reforming and hydrogen production.