Mesoporous CuO-ZnO-ZrO₂ Catalyst For Methanol Synthesis From CO₂ Hydrogenation

Research of highly efficient catalyst is the key step in the technique for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. In this work, mesoporous CuO-ZnO-ZrO2 catalyst was prepared and tested for methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation; and the main results obtained are as follows:1. CuO-ZnO-ZrO2 catalysts prepared by the surfactant-assisted co-precipitation method(1) A series of mesoporous CuO-ZnO-ZrO2 catalysts were synthesized by a surfactant-assisted co-precipitation method and tested for the synthesis of methanol from CO2 hydrogenation. The effects of the addition of surfactant and calcination temperature on the properties of the obtained catalysts have been investigated. The results indicate that compared with the counterparts prepared by the conventional co-precipitation method, the CuO-ZnO-ZrO2 catalysts prepared by this novel method show significantly high methanol selectivity. The superior property of the prepared CuO-ZnO-ZrO2 catalyst can be attributed to the formation of more amounts of Cu-ZnOx and/or Cu-ZrOx species resulted from the homogeneous element distribution. On the other hand, the size of copper particles increases with the increase in calcination temperature, leading to the decrease in turnover frequency (TOF) for methanol formation.(2) Different CuO-ZnO-ZrO2 catalysts were synthesized by a surfactant-assisted co-precipitation method using different precipitants (H2C2O4, Na2CO3, (NH4)2CO3 and NH3·H2O). The results show that the physicochemical properties of the catalysts are strongly influenced by the precipitants.2. CuO-ZnO-ZrO2 catalysts prepared by the cellulose-template methodThe CuO-ZnO-ZrO2 catalysts were synthesized by a cellulose-template method on filter papers. The effects of the different kinds of atmosphere, and the state (static or dynamic) of calcination air, the calcination temperature on the properties of catalysts have been investigated. The results suggest that higher activity is obtained over the catalyst calcined at static air, and it decreases with the increase in calcination temperature. On the other hand, the catalyst calcined at dynamic air exhibits higher methanol selectivity.