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Title: Reactivity of a Zirconia–Copper Inverse Catalyst for CO2 Hydrogenation

Journal Article · · Journal of Physical Chemistry. C

Copper–zirconia catalysts have been shown to be effective for methanol synthesis via CO2 hydrogenation, yet the active phases and reaction mechanism remain uncertain. Here, an inverse model catalyst ZrO2/CuO2/Cu(111) was prepared by mass-selected ion deposition and tested for CO2 hydrogenation under near-ambient pressure (AP) reaction conditions by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) and infrared reflection–absorption spectroscopy (NAP-IRAS). The spatial resolution afforded by the small entrance cone of the AP-XPS spectrometer was used to resolve regions of the surface with and without Zr deposition. Carbon 1s core level spectra of the ZrO2/Cu2O/Cu(111) regions of the surface under 500 mTorr of CO2 + H2 (1:3 ratio) show evidence for reaction intermediates including carbonate (CO3*), formate (HCOO*), and HxCO* species, with methoxy having the highest surface concentration at 500–600 K. These intermediates are confirmed by IRAS vibrational spectra. In regions of the surface without Zr, the Cu2O/Cu(111) is reduced to metallic Cu, and the surface intermediates are different and are present at much lower concentrations. The observed surface intermediates and their temperature dependence suggest a mechanism in which CO2 is adsorbed on zirconia as carbonate (CO3*) and then converted to HCOO* and HxCO* hydrogenated intermediates that ultimately lead to methoxy (CH3O*), the final surface-bound precursor for methanol. Overall, the results clearly demonstrate the promotional effects of small ZrO2 particles for enhancing the reactivity of Cu surfaces for CO2 hydrogenation.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012704; SC0012573; HDTRA11510005
OSTI ID:
1670666
Report Number(s):
BNL-219917-2020-JAAM
Journal Information:
Journal of Physical Chemistry. C, Vol. 124, Issue 40; ISSN 1932-7447
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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