One-pot synthesis of single-atom Ru-immobilized hierarchical porous CeO2 catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation

The catalytic conversion of CO 2 to formic acid (FA) represents a promising route for carbon utilization and sustainable chemical production. However, this process faces thermodynamic limitations and requires highly efficient catalysts. Conventional synthesis methods often lead to structural inhomogeneity and involve complex procedures, constraining their efficiency and scalability. To overcome these limitations, we developed a one-pot solvothermal approach combined with calcination to fabricate Ru/CeO 2 catalysts. The as-synthesized catalysts feature atomically dispersed Ru species, a significantly increased concentration of oxygen vacancies on CeO 2 , and enhanced metal-support interactions, which work synergistically to promote reactant activation and catalytic performance. Under mild reaction conditions, the optimized Ru/CeO 2 catalyst delivered high performance, achieving a turnover number (TON) of 1112 and a turnover frequency (TOF) of 139 h −1 . Moreover, the catalyst maintained high stability and recyclability over multiple reaction cycles, underscoring its potential for industrial implementation. This study offers an efficient and scalable synthesis strategy for designing high-performance heterogeneous catalysts, thereby advancing carbon emission mitigation and sustainable chemical synthesis.