More than skin deep: In spite of their identical 1:1 surface composition, the geometric and electronic structures of a multilayer and monolayer PdZn surface alloy are different, as are their catalytic selectivities. The CO2 selective multilayer alloy features surface ensembles of PdZn exhibiting a “Zn‐up/Pd‐down” corrugation (see picture). These act as “bifunctional” active sites both for water activation and for the conversion of methanol into CO2. On the monolayer alloy CO and not CO2 is produced.

Ultrathin PdZn surface alloys on Pd(111) are model systems well-suited for obtaining a microscopic understanding of the mechanisms of Pd/Zn-based catalysis for methanol steam reforming. The temperature-induced compositional and structural changes of these alloy films are investigated in the catalytically relevant temperature range. Heating of multilayer Zn films to 500 K results in the formation of multilayer PdZn alloy films with surface and near-surface composition close to 1:1. In the temperature regime above 550 K the subsurface layers deplete quickly in Zn due to diffusion of Zn atoms into the Pd bulk. In contrast, the composition of the surface layer changes only slightly, indicating formation of a PdZn film with strong monolayer character. This change in subsurface composition triggers a change of the original Zn-out/Pd-in surface corrugation, leading ultimately to a Pd-out/Zn-in situation for annealing temperatures beyond 700 K. The altered corrugation pattern is also obtained when submonolayer amounts of Zn are heated to ∼500 K. The observed structural changes are in qualitative agreement with predictions by DFT calculations.

A Zn-in-Cu near-surface alloy covered by a thin wetting layer of interfacial Zn(ox) is the most active state of an inverse CuZn catalyst. The bifunctional action of the mixed Cu(Zn)0/Zn(ox) surface allows for selective dehydrogenation of methanol to formaldehyde and for optimized water activation, thus providing the required source of oxygen for the total oxidation of HCHO to CO2

This Minireview summarizes the fundamental results of a comparative inverse-model versus real-model catalyst approach toward methanol steam reforming (MSR) on the highly CO₂-selective H₂-reduced states of supported Pd/ZnO, Pd/Ga₂O3, and Pd/In₂O3 catalysts. Our model approach was extended to the related Pd/GeO₂ and Pd/SnO₂ systems, which showed previously unknown MSR performance. This approach allowed us to determine salient CO₂-selectivity-guiding structural and electronic effects on the molecular level, to establish a knowledge-based approach for the optimization of CO₂ selectivity. Regarding the inverse-model catalysts, in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (in situ XPS) studies on near-surface intermetallic PdZn, PdGa, and PdIn phases (NSIP), as well as bulk Pd₂Ga, under realistic MSR conditions were performed alongside catalytic testing. To highlight the importance of a specifically prepared bulk intermetallic[BOND]oxide interface, unsupported bulk intermetallic compounds of Pd_xGa_y were chosen as additional MSR model compounds, which allowed us to clearly deduce, for example, the water-activating role of the special Pd₂Ga-β-Ga₂O₃ intermetallic[BOND]oxide interaction. The inverse-model studies were complemented by their related “real-model” experiments. Structure–activity and structure–selectivity correlations were performed on epitaxially ordered PdZn, Pd₅Ga₂, PdIn, Pd₃Snv, and Pd₂Ge nanoparticles that were embedded in thin crystalline films of their respective oxides. The reductively activated “thin-film model catalysts” that were prepared by sequential Pd and oxide deposition onto NaCl(001) exhibited the required large bimetal[BOND]oxide interface and the highly epitaxial ordering that was required for (HR)TEM studies and for identification of the structural and catalytic (bi)metal[BOND]support interactions. To fully understand the bimetal[BOND]support interactions in the supported systems, our studies were extended to the MeOH- and formaldehyde-reforming properties of the clean supporting oxides. From a direct comparison of the “isolated” MSR performance of the purely bimetallic surfaces to that of the “isolated” oxide surfaces and of the “bimetal[BOND]oxide contact” systems, a pronounced “bimetal[BOND]oxide synergy” toward optimum CO2 activity/selectivity was most evident. Moreover, the system-specific mechanisms that led to undesired CO formation and to spoiling of the CO2 selectivity could be extracted

Low-energy ion scattering with monolayer sensitivity was applied to investigate ultrathin films of zinc on Pd(1 1 1). Uptake curves taken at 150 K indicate the simultaneous growth of multilayers with negligible interlayer transport. Annealing experiments for two-monolayer films reveal a rapid decrease in the zinc content on the surface layer at temperatures above 300 K, forming a metastable state with a Pd:Zn surface ratio of approx. 1:1 in the temperature region between 400 and 550 K. This state is most easily explained as a slightly buckled p(2 × 1)-PdZn surface alloy, with Zn atoms located approx. 0.25 Å above their Pd counterparts.

Graphical abstractHighlights► A Pd1Ga1 surface without Ga2O3 contact is inactive for CO2 formation in methanol steam reforming. ► In situ XPS spectroscopy showed that water activation is blocked on Pd1Ga1. ► The valence band electronic structure of Pd1Ga1 favors selective dehydrogenation to H2CO. ► In oxidative steam reforming, the Pd1Ga1 surface behaves like extended Pd. ► Thus, total methanol oxidation by O2 at low temperatures is predominant.

The CO2-selectivity in methanol steam reforming was investigated for a "multilayer" PdZn 1:1 surface alloy (thickness of ~1.3 nm) and for a subsurface-Zn diluted "monolayer" PdZn surface alloy, both exhibiting a 1:1 composition in the surface layer. Despite having almost the same surface layer stoichiometry, these two types of near-surface alloys exhibit different corrugations and electronic structures. The CO2-selective multilayer alloy features a lowered density of states close to the Fermi edge and surface ensembles of PdZn exhibiting a "Zn-up/Pd-down" corrugation, acting as bifunctional active sites both for reversible water activation as ZnOH and for reaction of methanol (via formaldehyde + ZnOH) toward CO2. The thermochemical stability limit of the multilayer alloy at around 573 K was determined in-situ at elevated pressures of water, methanol and CO, applying in-situ XPS, PM-IRAS spectroscopy, LEIS and AES. Above 573 K, the coordination of the surface 1:1 PdZn layer with subsurfaceZn gradually decreased by bulk diffusion of Zn "escaping" from the second and deeper layers, resulting in a transition from the CO2-selective PdZn "multilayer" state to the unselective "monolayer" state, which only catalyses methanol dehydrogenation to CO.

Growth, alloying, and structure of ultra-thin layers of Zn deposited onto Pd(110) were investigated by low-energy ion scattering, low-energy electron diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, and temperature-programmed desorption. In the initial deposition stage at room temperature, intermixing between Zn and Pd occurs, leading to an alloyed interface layer, which, with increasing deposition time, is then overgrown by Zn adlayers with a rough surface morphology. At 3 ML, a transition takes place from pseudomorphic growth to bulk-like hcp Zn(001) films. Upon annealing of the as-deposited films to temperatures above 450 K, Zn surface atoms start to migrate into subsurface layers, leading to the formation of a PdZn surface alloy with local 1:1 stoichiometry. The precise onset temperature for this process depends on the initial Zn coverage. The resulting 1:1 surface alloy has a strong monolayer character, is pseudomorphic, and exhibits a small Pd-up/Zn-down buckling and a (2 × 1)periodicity with Pd and Zn atoms located alternatingly along the close-packed atomic rows. This structure can be regarded as descending from the (101) surface of the tetragonal bulk PdZn intermetallic phase.