Hydrogen production by methanol reforming catalyzed by copper gallium‐based spinel using B‐site doping strategy

Abstract A series of B‐site‐doped copper spinel CuGaBO 4 (B = Co, Fe, Al, Ni) catalysts were synthesized and evaluated for methanol steam reforming (MSR). The surface morphology, elemental composition, and structural properties of the catalysts were characterized using x‐ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy, x‐ray photoelectron spectrometer, and Brunner‐Emmet‐Teller (BET) surface area analysis. The SEM results reveal that the fresh catalysts consist of small particles stacked together, forming a porous structure with a particle size range of approximately 20–50 nm. BET analysis further confirms the presence of an ordered porous structure, which contributes to a higher BET surface area and pore volume. The O 1s spectrum reveals the presence of surface‐adsorbed oxygen (O ads ), which helps to enhance catalytic activity and methanol conversion. In addition, it was found that the CuGaFeO 4 catalyst exhibited the highest methanol conversion at 90%, hydrogen production at 6.87 mmol/min/g cat , and the CO selectivity was below 0.37%. After a subsequent 40 h stability test, the methanol conversion was still able to reach 85% and the hydrogen production was around 6 mmol/min/g cat .