CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol over Mesoporous SiO2-Coated Cu-Based Catalysts

Luiz H Vieira; Marco A Rossi; Letícia F Rasteiro; José M Assaf; Elisabete M Assaf

doi:10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.4c00016

CO₂ Hydrogenation to Methanol over Mesoporous SiO₂-Coated Cu-Based Catalysts

ACS Nanosci Au. 2024 Jul 18;4(4):235-242. doi: 10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.4c00016. eCollection 2024 Aug 21.

Authors

Luiz H Vieira¹, Marco A Rossi¹, Letícia F Rasteiro², José M Assaf³, Elisabete M Assaf¹

Affiliations

¹ São Carlos Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, São Paulo 13560-970, Brazil.
² School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo 13565-905, Brazil.

Abstract

Although chemical promotion led to essential improvements in Cu-based catalysts for CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol, surpassing structural limitations such as active phase aggregation under reaction conditions remains challenging. In this report, we improved the textural properties of Cu/In₂O₃/CeO₂ and Cu/In₂O₃/ZrO₂ catalysts by coating the nanoparticles with a mesoporous SiO₂ shell. This strategy limited particle size up to 3.5 nm, increasing metal dispersion and widening the metal-metal oxide interface region. Chemometric analysis revealed that these structures could maintain high activity and selectivity in a wide range of reaction conditions, with methanol space-time yields up to 4 times higher than those of the uncoated catalysts.