Inducing the stable Cu0-OV-Cu+ active center at the interface of Cu/Zn catalysts via doped Cr to achieve high yields of methanol in CO2 hydrogenation

CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol is one of the most promising pathways for emission reduction. Unlike traditional synthesis gas (CO + H 2 ) to methanol, a major challenge is that the activation of inert CO 2 at high temperature will induce the reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reaction to generate CO, thereby reducing the methanol yield. In this research, a novel catalyst Cu 7 Zn 3 Cr 0.3 was synthesized by the carbon microsphere-assisted sol-gel method, which remarkably achieved a maximum methanol space-time yield of 345.1 g kg cat −1 h −1 under mild conditions (200 °C, 3.0 MPa, and 21600 mL g cat −1 h −1 ). Characterizations combined with theoretical simulations show that Cr doping can affect the crystal structure of ZnO, resulting in the formation of more oxygen vacancies (O V s), and induce Cu to form a stable Cu 0 -O V -Cu + active center at the interface. This active structure efficiently enhances the adsorption and activation of CO 2 , while changing the reaction path to inhibit the production of CO. The results indicate that there is a clear linear relationship between the Cu + and O V s concentration and methanol yield, which could provide experimental references for the development of high-performance catalysts for CO 2 methanol production.