Process for preparing porous iron oxide-zirconia composite catalyst, porous iron oxide-zirconia composite catalyst prepared thereby, and method for producing alcohol using the catalyst

Abstract

The present invention relates to a porous iron oxide-zirconia composite catalyst, a preparation method thereof, and a method for producing alcohol using the same, and the iron oxide-zirconia composite catalyst having a porous structure may produce alcohol at low cost by carrying out an excellent methane reforming reaction even under room temperature and room pressure conditions through an electrochemical reaction.

1 . A method for preparing a porous iron oxide-zirconia composite catalyst, the method including:
 impregnating a polymer template mold with a precursor mixture of iron oxide precursor and a zirconia precursor;   drying the polymer template mold impregnated with the precursor mixture; and   sintering the dried polymer template mold.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the iron oxide precursor is one or more selected from the group consisting of iron (III) nitrate, iron (III) chlorate, and iron (III) sulfate.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the zirconia precursor is one or more selected from the group consisting of zirconium oxynitrate, zirconium nitrate, and zirconium sulfate.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the iron oxide precursor and the zirconia precursor are mixed at a molar ratio of 8:1 to 2:1.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the polymer template mold includes a spherical polymer arranged in a face centered cubic (fcc) structure.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the polymer template mold is manufactured by a method including emulsion polymerization of monomers, followed by drying step.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the polymer template mold includes one or more polymers selected from the group consisting of poly(methyl methacrylate) [PMMA], poly(butyl methacrylate) [PBMA], poly(methyl methacrylate)(butyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) [PHEMA], and polystyrene.   
     
     
         8 . A porous iron oxide-zirconia composite catalyst manufactured by a method comprising:
 impregnating a polymer template mold with a precursor mixture of iron oxide precursor and a zirconia precursor;   drying the polymer template mold impregnated with the precursor mixture; and   sintering the dried polymer template mold,   wherein the average pore size is 50 to 900 nm.   
     
     
         9 . The porous iron oxide-zirconia composite catalyst of  claim 8 ,
 wherein the porous iron oxide-zirconia composite catalyst has a specific surface area of 1 to 1,000 m 2 /g.   
     
     
         10 . The porous iron oxide-zirconia composite catalyst of  claim 8 ,
 wherein the composite catalyst has a molar ratio of iron oxide to zirconia of 9.9:0.1 to 4.0:6.0.   
     
     
         11 . The porous iron oxide-zirconia composite catalyst of  claim 8 ,
 wherein zirconia in the porous iron oxide-zirconia composite catalyst is in the form of tetragonal phase.   
     
     
         12 . A method for manufacturing alcohols, the method comprising:
 contacting the porous iron oxide-zirconia composite catalyst of  claim 8  with methane.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 ,
 wherein the contacting is carried out at a temperature of 5 to 40° C.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 ,
 wherein the contacting is carried out at a pressure of 1 to 20 bar.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 ,
 wherein the alcohol is methanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, or ethanol.