Boosting CO2-to-methanol conversion on perovskite catalysts via Ce/Zr doping with oxygen vacancies and surface basicity modulation

CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol is a core topic in low-carbon chemistry. Cu-based catalysts are widely used due to their low cost and high activity, while perovskites offer advantages such as tunable CO 2 adsorption and high oxygen mobility. In this study, perovskite-structured catalysts were designed and modified with Ce or Zr dopants for this reaction. The results demonstrated that Ce or Zr doping promoted the formation of oxygen vacancies and moderate basic sites. In particular, the Ce-doped LaCeCuZn-181 catalyst exhibited the optimal performance, achieving a CO 2 conversion of 23.3% and a methanol selectivity of 76.5% at 270 °C, 3 MPa. Moreover, no significant deactivation was observed during a 120-h stability test. Comprehensive structural characterizations confirmed that the enhanced activity originated from the synergistic interaction among Cu 0 /Cu + species, oxygen vacancies, and moderate basic sites, which together facilitates H 2 dissociation, CO 2 activation, and intermediate transformation.