Cu-supported nano-ZrZnOx as a highly active inverse catalyst for low temperature methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation

Hydrogenation of CO 2 into methanol at low-temperature on Cu-based catalysts is of great significance, but remains challenging to enhance activity. In this paper, we report an inverse catalyst constructed with nano-ZrZnO x supported on Cu particles with outstanding methanol synthesis performance at 220 ℃, two times higher than that of commercial Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 catalysts under the same conditions. Detailed structure characterization and performance evaluation demonstrate that the ZrZnO x mixed oxide serves as the most active oxide-metal interface site for CO 2 hydrogenation. The ZrZnO x /Cu inverse catalyst increases the weak and medium CO 2 adsorption sites which are further demonstrated responsible to the methanol productivity. In situ DRIFTs studies reveal that the inverse interface accelerates the reduction of asymmetric formate intermediates and prevents the generation of CO. The combination of enhanced CO 2 activation capability and accelerated hydrogenation rate of intermediates over the ZrZnO x /Cu inverse catalyst probably contribute to the remarkable methanol synthesis performance from CO 2 .