Ecological and climate change concerns have spurred a growing interest in developing environmentally friendly technologies to utilize CO2, especially in applications where it is reacted with green H2 (from renewable energy sources) to produce value-added chemical products such as methanol and high-order hydrocarbons. This talk will provide examples of the morphological and chemical evolution of well defined pre-catalysts during the thermal hydrogenation of CO2. Important aspects that will be discussed are: (i) the design of size- and shape-controlled (spherical versus cubic) catalytically active nanoparticles (NPs) (Cu, Cu2O, Cu-Zn, Cu-Ga, FeOx); (ii) the role of the support (SiO2, ZnO, Al2O3, ZnOAl) on the catalytic performance, and (iii) the correlation between the dynamic structure/chemical state and surface composition of the catalysts and their reactivity and selectivity under realistic operando reaction conditions, including high pressure environments. To address the complexity of the former catalysts, a synergistic approach taking advantage of a variety of cutting-edge experimental methods (AFM, NAP-STM, E-TEM, TPD, NAP-XPS, XAS, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, MS/GC) will be presented. The results of this work are expected to open up new routes for the reutilization of CO2 through its direct conversion into valuable chemicals and fuels, contributing thus to closing the artificial carbon cycle.

Dynamic nanoparticle catalysts during CO2 hydrogenation reactions

ACS Spring 2022

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