The performances of model catalysts such as Cu and ZrO₂/Cu for methanol steam reforming (MSR) were investigated in the present work. It showed that the initial activity of Cu decreased with the rise of reduction temperature. Furthermore, Cu having lost its activity was reactivated through transient O₂ pulse in the catalysis system. Compared with Cu, ZrO₂/Cu showed very high activity and stability. The results of TPR, XPS and in-situ FT-IR indicated that the loss of catalytic activity was due to the gradual exhaustion of the surface oxygen on the copper. However, ZrO₂ promoter stabilized the surface oxygen and Cu^＋ species during the reaction process, then promoting the catalytic activity and stability.

Key words: Cu, ZrO₂/Cu, methanol steam reforming, surface oxygen