The pathways for the reaction of ethanol on model catalysts consisting of Co and CoO films and particles supported on single crystal ZnO(0001) surfaces were studied using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD). On supported metallic Co films and particles ethanol was found to primarily undergo decarbonylation forming CO, H(2), and adsorbed methyl groups. In contrast, supported CoO particles were found to be largely unreactive toward ethanol. High selectivity to the dehydrogenation product, acetaldehyde, was only observed when the supported Co was partially oxidized and contained both Co(0) and Co(2+). Since acetaldehyde is thought to be a critical intermediate during steam reforming of ethanol (SRE) to produce H(2) and CO(2), the results of this study suggest that partially oxidized Co species provide the active sites for this reaction. This result is consistent with studies of high surface area Co/ZnO catalysts which also suggest that both Co(0) and Co(2+) species are present under typical SRE reaction conditions.
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