Role and dynamics of transition metal carbides in methane coupling.

Transition metal carbides have numerous applications and are known to excel in terms of hardness, thermal stability and conductivity. In particular, the Pt-like behavior of Mo and W carbides has led to the popularization of metal carbides in catalysis, ranging from electrochemically-driven reactions to thermal methane coupling. Herein, we show the active participation of carbidic carbon in the formation of C products during methane coupling at high temperature that is associated with the dynamics of Mo and W carbides.

Flame-made ternary Pd-InO-ZrO catalyst with enhanced oxygen vacancy generation for CO hydrogenation to methanol.

Palladium promotion and deposition on monoclinic zirconia are effective strategies to boost the performance of bulk InO in CO-to-methanol and could unlock superior reactivity if well integrated into a single catalytic system. However, harnessing synergic effects of the individual components is crucial and very challenging as it requires precise control over their assembly. Herein, we present ternary Pd-InO-ZrO catalysts prepared by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) with remarkable methanol productivity and improved metal utilization, surpassing their binary counterparts.