Magnetically Induced Continuous CO2 Hydrogenation Using Composite Iron Carbide Nanoparticles of Exceptionally High Heating Power

The use of magnetic nanoparticles to convert electromagnetic energy into heat is known to be a key strategy for numerous biomedical applications but is also an approach of growing interest in the field of catalysis. The heating efficiency of magnetic nanoparticles is limited by the poor magnetic properties of most of them. Here we show that the new generation of iron carbide nanoparticles of controlled size and with over 80% crystalline Fe2.2C leads to exceptional heating properties, which are much better than the heating properties of currently available nanoparticles. Associated to catalytic metals (Ni, Ru), iron carbide nanoparticles submitted to magnetic excitation very efficiently catalyze CO2 hydrogenation in a dedicated continuous-flow reactor. Hence, we demonstrate that the concept of magnetically induced heterogeneous catalysis can be successfully applied to methanation of CO2 and represents an approach of strategic interest in the context of intermittent energy storage and CO2 recovery.