Catalytic methanol oxidation over copper: observation of reaction-induced nanoscale restructuring by means of in situ time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy

The catalytically active copper phase for the partial oxidation of methanol is studied by means of time-resolved extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy combined with the detection of the catalytic turnover. It is found that the active form of the copper is a strained nanocrystalline form of the metal. The metal is no longer made up from large crystallites but contains a defect structure in which oxygen is already intercalated.