Work

Supercritical CO 2 Activation Enables an Exceptional Methanol Synthesis Activity Over the Industrial Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 Catalyst

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The ternary Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 catalyst is widely used in the industry for renewable methanol synthesis. The tenuous trade‐off between the strong metal–support interaction (SMSI)‐induced Cu–ZnO x interface and the accessible Cu surface strongly affects the activity of the final catalyst. Successes in the control of oxide migration on adsorbate‐induced SMSI catalysts have motivated this to develop a supercritical CO 2 activation strategy to synchronously perfect the Cu 0 –O–Zn δ + interface and Cu 0 –Cu + surface sites through the manipulation of the adsorbate diffusion kinetics, which involves * OC 2 H 5 and “side‐on” fixed CO 2 species. This findings illustrate that the adsorbate on ZnO x can facilitate its secondary uniform nucleation and induce a Zn x Al 2 O y spinel phase and that CO 2 adsorption on metallic Cu 0 produces an activated Cu x O amorphous shell. Such a structural evolution unlocks a dual‐response pathway in methanol synthesis, thus enabling Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 with a twofold increase in catalytic activity. This atomic‐level design of active sites and understanding of supercritical CO 2 ‐induced structural evolution will guide the future development of high‐performance supported metal catalysts.

Source: Advanced Science

DOI: 10.1002/advs.202500118

Authors: Yannan Zhou, Jingyun Jiang, Yushun Wang, Ruijie Liu, Shouren Zhang, Jianfang Wang

Institutions: Huanghe Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou University, Henan University of Science and Technology, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Language: English

Topic: Catalysts for Methane Reforming

Subfield: Catalysis

Field: Chemical Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $6,730

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province