Research Projects

Hydrogen generation through the methanol-reforming route has gained significant attention in recent years due to its importance in fuel cell technology and clean energy production. Steam reformation of methanol (SRM) is significant as it provides high purity H₂ with the lowest CO concentration. Copper-based and group 8-10 metal catalysts are preferred for SRM due to their high activity and good selectivity towards H₂ and CO, but they suffer from catalytic deactivation due to coke formation, sintering, and change in oxidation state. The presence of hydroxyl-aldehyde favors C-C bond cleavage and promotes H₂ formation, indicating the importance of surface functionalities during SRM. Various nanostructured materials such as borocabonitride nanotubes and metal carbides have been utilized for dry methanol reformation due to their similar or better selectivity for H₂ than noble metals. Our approach involves synthesizing 2D MXenes such as Ti₂C, V₂C, Nb₂C, and Mo₂C on a large scale from the corresponding bulk MAX phase and testing their catalytic efficiency for SRM. The MXene obtained from acid etching of the bulk MAX phase carries abundant surface hydroxyl functionalities, which may prevent coke formation and assist H₂ generation during SRM reaction. Doping 2D MXene or metal oxide with N or P atoms is expected to enhance catalytic performance through improving thermal stability and imparting nitrogen functionalities to the 2D surface. From an application point of view, methanol reformation catalysts can be supported on the metal support and coupled to the fuel cell's anode.