A highly efficient Cu/ZnOx/ZrO2 catalyst for selective CO2 hydrogenation to methanol

The ternary Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst is usually employed for producing methanol from syngas (CO/CO2/H-2) or from CO2 hydrogenation in industry. However, this catalyst often suffers from the aggregation of Cu nanoparticles and the phase separation of Cu and ZnO. In this work, a highly efficient and stable catalyst (Cu/ZnOx/ZrO2) for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol is prepared via co-precipitation method with UiO-66 as structural template. Cu/Zn is effectively combined and encapsulated in the channels of UiO-66, which avoids the aggregation of metal particles. The ZrO2 support derived from UiO-66 enhances the interaction between the support and Cu/Zn, and thus improves the catalytic performance significantly. This catalyst shows a high space-time yield of 216.7 g((MeOH)).kg((cat))(-1).h(-1) at 260 degrees C, 4 MPa and GHSV = 12000 h(-1). Furthermore, the catalyst shows good stability over a period of 50 h on stream. The performance of Cu/ZnOx/ZrO2 is much better than that of commercial catalysts and most of catalysts previously reported. (C) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, a highly efficient and stable catalyst (Cu/ZnOx/ZrO2) for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol was prepared using co-precipitation method with UiO-66 as a structural template. Cu/Zn was effectively combined and encapsulated in the channels of UiO-66, preventing the aggregation of Cu nanoparticles and phase separation of Cu and ZnO. The ZrO2 support derived from UiO-66 enhanced the interaction between the support and Cu/Zn, leading to significantly improved catalytic performance. The catalyst exhibited high space-time yield and good stability, outperforming commercial catalysts and most previously reported catalysts.