An Insight into Synergistic Metal-Oxide Interaction in CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol over Cu/ZnO/ZrO2

The metal-oxide interaction is of significance to the construction of active sites for Cu-catalyzed CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. This study examines the effect of ZnO and ZrO2 composition on the Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 catalyst structure and surface properties to further tune the catalytic activity for methanol synthesis. The ZnO/ZrO2 ratio can impact the CuZn alloy formation from strong Cu-ZnO interactions and the surface basic sites for CO2 adsorption at the Cu-ZrO2 interface. The proportional correlation of the CuZn alloy content and CO2 desorption amount with the space-time yield (STY) of methanol reveals a synergistic interaction between Cu and oxides (ZnO and ZrO2) that enhances methanol synthesis. The optimized Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 catalyst exhibits higher STY relative to the traditional Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst. The obtained results presented herein can provide insight into the catalyst design for methanol synthesis from CO2.

Automated summary

The study examines the effect of ZnO and ZrO2 composition on the structure and surface properties of Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 catalyst, revealing a synergistic interaction between Cu and oxides (ZnO and ZrO2) that enhances methanol synthesis. The optimized Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 catalyst exhibits higher methanol yield compared to the traditional Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst.