An Insight into Synergistic Metal-Oxide Interaction in CO 2 Hydrogenation to Methanol over Cu/ZnO/ZrO 2.

The metal-oxide interaction is of significance to the construction of active sites for Cu-catalyzed CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol. This study examines the effect of ZnO and ZrO₂ composition on the Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalyst structure and surface properties to further tune the catalytic activity for methanol synthesis. The ZnO/ZrO₂ ratio can impact the CuZn alloy formation from strong Cu-ZnO interactions and the surface basic sites for CO₂ adsorption at the Cu-ZrO₂ interface. The proportional correlation of the CuZn alloy content and CO₂ desorption amount with the space-time yield (STY) of methanol reveals a synergistic interaction between Cu and oxides (ZnO and ZrO₂) that enhances methanol synthesis. The optimized Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalyst exhibits higher STY relative to the traditional Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The obtained results presented herein can provide insight into the catalyst design for methanol synthesis from CO₂. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]