Structured nanoporous copper catalysts prepared by laser powder bed fusion and dealloying for on-board methanol steam reforming

The use of online methanol steam reforming (MSR) as an efficient hydrogen production approach is considered an attractive route for supplying hydrogen to onboard fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). Current catalysts face challenges, such as a large pressure drop, easy pulverization, and coating peeling. To address these challenges, in this study, a structured Cu-based catalyst with a body-centered cubic skeleton was prepared using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) combined with a dealloying method. The three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical nanoporous copper structures with high specific surface areas were observed. The catalytic performance of the 3D structured Cu-based catalyst is superior to those of reported catalysts with 93.6% methanol conversion and a CO concentration of less than 0.3% in dry gas under the reaction conditions of a mass space velocity of 34.6 h−1, a temperature of 280 °C, and a H2O/CH3OH molar ratio of 1.3. In addition, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations confirmed the excellent mass and heat transfer performance and low pressure drop of the 3D-structured copper-based catalyst. Structured Cu-based catalysts have great potential for applications in FCVs.