Formate hydrogenation reaction process on Cu (111) surface

Abstract

In the catalytic reaction that converts CO₂ into chemically useful methanol, the development of a low load operating catalyst has become an issue. In this study, hydrogen is reacted with formate, which is an initial reaction intermediate of methanol synthesis, generated on single crystal Cu (111) surface, and we aim to elucidate the elementary process of formate hydrogenation which is not clarified experimentally. In the experiments, reflection infrared absorption spectroscopy and thermal desorption spectroscopy were used to observe and identify adsorbed species on the catalyst surface.