Nanoscale Confinement of Indium Oxide for Enhanced CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol

Research on CO2 hydrogenation catalysts, particularly In2O3-based materials, is crucial for developing sustainable CO2 utilization and chemical production technologies, contributing to a cleaner future. We address the critical challenge of efficient and stable CO2 conversion by developing a novel Zr-doping strategy to enhance In2O3 catalyst performance for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. Our key contribution is identifying the nanoscale confinement effect as crucial for optimizing both the activity and stability of In2O3 catalysts. By leveraging this nanoscale confinement effect, we have precisely controlled the size, dispersion, and reducibility of In2O3 nanoparticles, resulting in the formation and stabilization of highly active In2O3–x with oxygen vacancies. This confinement also effectively suppresses In0 migration and sintering, dramatically improving catalyst stability. The resulting Zr-doped catalysts exhibit significantly higher activity and stability compared to the undoped In2O3/ZrO2 catalyst, achieving a remarkable space-time yield of 4.708 gMeOH gIn–1 h–1 and demonstrating durability under industrially relevant conditions. This discovery offers a promising new direction for the rational design of high-performance CO2 hydrogenation catalysts and lays the foundation for future advances in sustainable catalysis.