Carbon dioxide hydrogenation to methanol over polybenzoxazine-based mesocarbon supported Cu-Zn catalyst

Carbonaceous material has been generally recognized as a stable and functionalized catalyst support and has a high surface area. It has been reported that the nitrogen species can enhance metal dispersion, leading to a promising catalytic activity. To achieve this goal, a high-surface-area carbon material, so-called mesocarbon, was synthesized via carbonization of polybenzoxazine (PBZ). The 15% CuZn/mesocarbon catalyst was prepared by an incipient wetness impregnation with equimolar concentrations of Cu and Zn and then its applicability in the direct methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation was tested. It was found that 15% CuZn/mesocarbon catalyst exhibited the highest methanol productivity (498 mg g(cat)(-1) h(-1)) and CO2 conversion (28 +/- 2%) at a reaction temperature and pressure of 240 degrees C and 15 bar, respectively. These high catalytic properties can be assigned to the high surface area of mesocarbon (up to 471 m(2) g(-1)) and high nitrogen content (2.31%), which can prevent metal agglomeration and improve hydrogen dissociation.

Automated summary

The carbon material synthesized from polybenzoxazine, known as mesocarbon, exhibited excellent catalytic properties in direct methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation. The high catalytic activity is attributed to the high surface area and nitrogen content of mesocarbon, which can prevent metal agglomeration and enhance hydrogen dissociation.