The remarkable activity and stability of a highly dispersive beta-brass Cu-Zn catalyst for the production of ethylene glycol.

Incorporation of Zn atoms into a nanosize Cu lattice is known to alter the electronic properties of Cu, improving catalytic performance in a number of industrially important reactions. However the structural influence of Zn on the Cu phase is not well studied. Here, we show that Cu nano-clusters modified with increasing concentration of Zn, derived from ZnO support doped with Ga(3+), can dramatically enhance their stability against metal sintering.