Stable Cu/Cu₂O/CuN₃@NC Catalysts for Aqueous Phase Reforming of Methanol

Aqueous-phase reforming of methanol represents a promising avenue for hydrogen (H₂) production. However, developing highly efficient and low-cost nonprecious catalysts remains challenging. Here, we report the synthesis of Cu-based catalysts with Cu, Cu₂O, and CuN₃ nanoparticles anchored on the nitrogen-doped carbon, forming Cu⁰/Cu⁺/Cu-N₃ active sites. This catalyst achieves a H₂ production rate of 140.1 μmol/g_cat/s at 210 °C, which is several times to 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of Cu-, Ni-, even Pt-based catalysts, demonstrating excellent long-term stability over 350 h at 210 °C. A mechanism investigation reveals that the Cu-N₃ site facilitates water dissociation into *OH and improves *CO and *OH conversion, leading to enhanced CO conversion and H₂ production kinetics.