Cu2In alloy-embedded ZrO2 catalysts for efficient CO2 hydrogenation to methanol: promotion of plasma modification

Fujiao Song; Jia Gao; Bairen Yang; Yan Cao; Huanhuan Liu; Qi Xu

doi:10.3389/fchem.2023.1187762

Cu₂In alloy-embedded ZrO₂ catalysts for efficient CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol: promotion of plasma modification

Front Chem. 2023 May 23:11:1187762. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1187762. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Fujiao Song¹, Jia Gao², Bairen Yang¹, Yan Cao¹, Huanhuan Liu¹, Qi Xu²

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory Under Construction for Volatile Organic Compounds Controlling of Jiangsu Province, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng, China.
² School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhengjiang, China.

Abstract

Cu₁In₂Zr₄-O-C catalysts with Cu₂In alloy structure were prepared by using the sol-gel method. Cu₁In₂Zr₄-O-PC and Cu₁In₂Zr₄-O-CP catalysts were obtained from plasma-modified Cu₁In₂Zr₄-O-C before and after calcination, respectively. Under the conditions of reaction temperature 270°C, reaction pressure 2 MPa, CO₂/H₂ = 1/3, and GHSV = 12,000 mL/(g h), Cu₁In₂Zr₄-O-PC catalyst has a high CO₂ conversion of 13.3%, methanol selectivity of 74.3%, and CH₃OH space-time yield of 3.26 mmol/gcat/h. The characterization results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and temperature-programmed reduction chemisorption (H₂-TPR) showed that the plasma-modified catalyst had a low crystallinity, small particle size, good dispersion, and excellent reduction performance, leading to a better activity and selectivity. Through plasma modification, the strong interaction between Cu and In in Cu₁In₂Zr₄-O-CP catalyst, the shift of Cu 2p orbital binding energy to a lower position, and the decrease in reduction temperature all indicate that the reduction ability of Cu₁In₂Zr₄-O-CP catalyst is enhanced, and the CO₂ hydrogenation activity is improved.

Keywords: CO2 hydrogenation; Cu2In alloy; ZrO2; methanol; plasma modification.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Funding for School-level Research Projects of Yancheng Institute of Technology. This work was also supported by the Joint Open Fund of the Key Laboratory under Construction for Volatile Organic Compounds Controlling of Jiangsu Province and Natural Science Research Project of Jiangsu Universities (18KJB610020).