For thermal catalytic reaction processes in general, the most prevalent source of heat supply in the present industry is the combustion of fossil fuels and natural gas, which will emit a substantial amount of CO2. Consequently, there has been a recent push to electrify thermal reactors. In this work, magnetically inductive nanoparticles convert energy from an alternating magnetic field to localized heat on the particles, signaling a significant improvement in energy delivery efficiency. A magnetic field applied causes the material’s magnetic moment to align. When the field is reversed, the magnetic moment switches directions. For those materials exhibiting hysteresis, the loss is released as heat. We specifically explored magnetically induced catalysts for the reverse water-gas shift reaction (RWGS; CO2 + H2 --&gt; CO + H2O) to convert low-concentration CO2 (~5-10 %) from industrial flue gas with diluted H2. The team has taken a multiprong approach to synthesizing these materials. Specifically, this strategy has included the traditional coprecipitation method for producing particles based on the Massart method. This high throughput method can yield large quantities of particles in a reproducible manner. In addition, the team applied advanced synthetic techniques based on the extended LaMer method. This has involved the production of metal-organic precursors including metal oleates. This allows for synthesis of multielement particles that unlock two distinct advantages. 1. The magnetic properties can be better controlled to match the applied field and frequency to maximize the heat output of the system. 2. By co-doping other elements the catalytic potential of the particles can be enhanced. Pt/Fe3O4 catalysts were first probed under conventional thermal and magnetic induction reaction conditions. Unexpectedly, when serving as an integral part of the working catalyst, the ferrite particles influence the reaction energetics under the magnetic field, thereby bringing new possibilities to boost the low-temperature reaction performance. When the Pt/Fe3O4 (with intimate metal-support interactions) was used as the direct catalyst, where the reaction performance of the same catalyst under induction heating is magnitudes higher than under the conventional furnace heating conditions. Kinetic studies revealed that the ferrite-based catalyst, in concerto with the magnetic field, will modify the reaction entropy and the reaction orders.

Magnetically induced metal-ferrite nanoparticle catalysts for CO2 reduction

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