The steam reforming and oxidative steam reforming of dimethyl ether (DME) were tested at 573–773 K over a CuZn/ZrO₂ catalyst in microreactors with three different types of channels: ceramic square channels with side lengths of 900 and 400 μm, and silicon microchannels of 2 μm of diameter. The channels were first coated with ZrOCl₂ (ceramic channels) or Zr(i-PrO)₄ (silicon microchannels) and calcined at 773 K for 2 h to obtain a homogeneous and well-adhered ZrO₂ layer, as determined by SEM, and then Cu and Zn (Cu:Zn = 1:1 M, 20 wt% total metal) were co-impregnated. Operation at highly reduced residence time (10⁻³ s) while achieving hydrogen yields similar to those recorded over the ceramic channels was possible for the silicon microchannels due to the three orders of magnitude increased contact area. In addition, the amount of catalyst used for coating the silicon microchannels was two orders of magnitude lower with respect to the conventional ceramic channels. Outstanding specific hydrogen production rates of 0.9 L_N of H₂ per min and cm³ of reactor volume were achieved as well as stable operation for 80 h, which demonstrates the feasibility of using on-site, on-demand hydrogen generation from DME for portable fuel cell applications.

在具有三种不同类型通道的微型反应器中，在CuZn / ZrO ₂催化剂上，在573–773 K上对二甲醚（DME）的蒸汽重整和氧化蒸汽重整进行了测试：边长为900和400μm的陶瓷方形通道，以及硅直径为2μm的微通道。首先将通道涂覆ZrOCl ₂（陶瓷通道）或Zr（i-PrO）₄（硅微通道），并在773 K下煅烧2 h，以获得均匀且粘附良好的ZrO ₂层（通过SEM确定），以及然后将铜和锌（铜：锌= 1：1 M，金属总量为20 wt％）共浸渍。停留时间大大缩短（10 ^-3 s）在实现氢产量的同时，由于接触面积增加了三个数量级，因此对于硅微通道而言，与陶瓷通道上记录的氢产量相似。另外，用于涂覆硅微通道的催化剂的量相对于常规陶瓷通道低两个数量级。达到了每分钟0.9 L _N H ₂和反应器体积cm ³的出色的氢气生产速率以及80 h的稳定运行，这证明了使用DME现场按需生产便携式氢气的可行性燃料电池的应用。