Martinelli, MichelaMarcelle, JonasCronauer, Donald C.Kropf, A. JeremyJacobs, Gary2023-05-152023-05-152023-05Martinelli, M., Marcelle, J., Cronauer, D. C., Kropf, A. J., & Jacobs, G. (2023). Isotope effect in formaldehyde steam reforming on Pt/m-ZrO2: Insight into chemical promotion by alkalis. Catalysis Communications, 178, 106668. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catcom.2023.1066681566-7367https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catcom.2023.106668https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12588/1842Infrared spectroscopy, temperature programmed reaction mass spectrometry (TP-reaction/MS), and catalyst testing were used to investigate alkali promotion of dehydrogenation selectivity during formaldehyde steam reforming (FSR) on Pt/m-ZrO2. In a preferred pathway, formaldehyde reacts with water forming hydrogen and formate, followed by forward formate decomposition to CO2 and H2. Alkali-doping of 2 wt% Pt/m-ZrO2 increases catalyst basicity, which weakens the formate C-H bond promoting formate dehydrogenation / decarboxylation. Promotion by alkali in FSR was observed through a formate ν(CH) band shift to lower wavenumbers in infrared spectroscopy, and through a decrease in the normal isotope effect in switching from H- to D-labeled formaldehyde in TP-reaction/MS.en-USAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United Stateshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/platinum/zirconiasodiumalkaliformaldehyde steam reforminghydrogen productionisotope effectArticle