DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Exploring the ternary interactions in Cu–ZnO–ZrO2 catalysts for efficient CO2 hydrogenation to methanol

Abstract

The synergistic interaction among different components in complex catalysts is one of the crucial factors in determining catalytic performance. Here we report the interactions among the three components in controlling the catalytic performance of Cu–ZnO–ZrO2 (CZZ) catalyst for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. The in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) measurements under the activity test pressure (3 MPa) reveal that the CO2 hydrogenation to methanol on the CZZ catalysts follows the formate pathway. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations agree with the in situ DRIFTS measurements, showing that the ZnO–ZrO2 interfaces are the active sites for CO2 adsorption and conversion, while the presence of metallic Cu is also necessary to facilitate H2 dissociation and to provide hydrogen resource. The combined experiment and DFT results reveal that tuning the interaction between ZnO and ZrO2 can be considered as another important factor for designing high performance catalysts for methanol generation from CO2.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [2];  [4];  [5]
  1. Kunming Univ. of Science and Technology (China). State Key Lab. of Complex Nonferrous Metal Resources Clean Utilization Engineering. Faculty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering
  2. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Chemistry Division
  3. Kunming Univ. of Science and Technology (China). State Key Lab. of Complex Nonferrous Metal Resources Clean Utilization Engineering; Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Dept. of Earth and Environmental Engineering
  4. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Chemistry Division; Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
  5. Kunming Univ. of Science and Technology (China). State Key Lab. of Complex Nonferrous Metal Resources Clean Utilization Engineering; Dali Univ. (China). School of Pharmacy and Chemistry
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Kunming Univ. of Science and Technology (China)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); National Key Technologies R & D Program of China; Candidate Talents Training Fund of Yunnan Province (China)
OSTI Identifier:
1504379
Report Number(s):
BNL-211494-2019-JAAM
Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0012704; AC02-05CH11231; 51774159; 51304099; 51404122; 2011BAC01B03; 2014HB006
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nature Communications
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; catalytic mechanisms; chemical engineering; heterogeneous catalysis

Citation Formats

Wang, Yuhao, Kattel, Shyam, Gao, Wengui, Li, Kongzhai, Liu, Ping, Chen, Jingguang G., and Wang, Hua. Exploring the ternary interactions in Cu–ZnO–ZrO2 catalysts for efficient CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-09072-6.
Wang, Yuhao, Kattel, Shyam, Gao, Wengui, Li, Kongzhai, Liu, Ping, Chen, Jingguang G., & Wang, Hua. Exploring the ternary interactions in Cu–ZnO–ZrO2 catalysts for efficient CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09072-6
Wang, Yuhao, Kattel, Shyam, Gao, Wengui, Li, Kongzhai, Liu, Ping, Chen, Jingguang G., and Wang, Hua. Mon . "Exploring the ternary interactions in Cu–ZnO–ZrO2 catalysts for efficient CO2 hydrogenation to methanol". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09072-6. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1504379.
@article{osti_1504379,
title = {Exploring the ternary interactions in Cu–ZnO–ZrO2 catalysts for efficient CO2 hydrogenation to methanol},
author = {Wang, Yuhao and Kattel, Shyam and Gao, Wengui and Li, Kongzhai and Liu, Ping and Chen, Jingguang G. and Wang, Hua},
abstractNote = {The synergistic interaction among different components in complex catalysts is one of the crucial factors in determining catalytic performance. Here we report the interactions among the three components in controlling the catalytic performance of Cu–ZnO–ZrO2 (CZZ) catalyst for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. The in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) measurements under the activity test pressure (3 MPa) reveal that the CO2 hydrogenation to methanol on the CZZ catalysts follows the formate pathway. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations agree with the in situ DRIFTS measurements, showing that the ZnO–ZrO2 interfaces are the active sites for CO2 adsorption and conversion, while the presence of metallic Cu is also necessary to facilitate H2 dissociation and to provide hydrogen resource. The combined experiment and DFT results reveal that tuning the interaction between ZnO and ZrO2 can be considered as another important factor for designing high performance catalysts for methanol generation from CO2.},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-019-09072-6},
journal = {Nature Communications},
number = ,
volume = 10,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Mar 11 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Mon Mar 11 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 188 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Solid-state interactions, adsorption sites and functionality of Cu-ZnO/ZrO2 catalysts in the CO2 hydrogenation to CH3OH
journal, November 2008


Mechanistic study of a new low-temperature methanol synthesis on Cu/MgO catalysts
journal, July 2005


In situ IR studies on the mechanism of methanol synthesis over an ultrafine Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst
journal, July 1998


Projector augmented-wave method
journal, December 1994


Challenges in the Greener Production of Formates/Formic Acid, Methanol, and DME by Heterogeneously Catalyzed CO 2 Hydrogenation Processes
journal, May 2017


Mixing Copper Nanoparticles and ZnO Nanocrystals: A Route towards Understanding the Hydrogenation of CO2 to Methanol?
journal, March 2011


Au/3DOM Co3O4: highly active nanocatalysts for the oxidation of carbon monoxide and toluene
journal, January 2013

  • Xie, Shaohua; Dai, Hongxing; Deng, Jiguang
  • Nanoscale, Vol. 5, Issue 22
  • DOI: 10.1039/c3nr04126c

Tuning Selectivity of CO 2 Hydrogenation Reactions at the Metal/Oxide Interface
journal, July 2017

  • Kattel, Shyam; Liu, Ping; Chen, Jingguang G.
  • Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 139, Issue 29
  • DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b05362

Adsorption of CO 2 at ZnO: A Surface Structure Effect from DFT+ U Calculations
journal, October 2013

  • Tang, Qian-Lin; Luo, Qing-Hong
  • The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 117, Issue 44
  • DOI: 10.1021/jp407970a

Electron-energy-loss spectra and the structural stability of nickel oxide: An LSDA+U study
journal, January 1998

  • Dudarev, S. L.; Botton, G. A.; Savrasov, S. Y.
  • Physical Review B, Vol. 57, Issue 3, p. 1505-1509
  • DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.57.1505

Quantifying the promotion of Cu catalysts by ZnO for methanol synthesis
journal, May 2016


Optimizing Binding Energies of Key Intermediates for CO 2 Hydrogenation to Methanol over Oxide-Supported Copper
journal, September 2016

  • Kattel, Shyam; Yan, Binhang; Yang, Yixiong
  • Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 138, Issue 38
  • DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b05791

In-SituInfrared Study of Methanol Synthesis from H2/CO2over Cu/SiO2and Cu/ZrO2/SiO2
journal, November 1997


Active Sites on Oxide Surfaces: ZnO-Catalyzed Synthesis of Methanol from CO and H 2
journal, April 2005

  • Kurtz, Melanie; Strunk, Jennifer; Hinrichsen, Olaf
  • Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 44, Issue 18
  • DOI: 10.1002/anie.200462374

Active sites for CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol on Cu/ZnO catalysts
journal, March 2017


Reverse water-gas shift reaction at the Cu/ZnO interface: Influence of the Cu/Zn ratio on structure-activity correlations
journal, October 2016

  • Álvarez Galván, Consuelo; Schumann, Julia; Behrens, Malte
  • Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol. 195
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2016.05.007

CO2 hydrogenation to methanol over Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 catalysts prepared by precipitation-reduction method
journal, August 2016


A climbing image nudged elastic band method for finding saddle points and minimum energy paths
journal, December 2000

  • Henkelman, Graeme; Uberuaga, Blas P.; Jónsson, Hannes
  • The Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 113, Issue 22, p. 9901-9904
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.1329672

Synthesis, characterization and activity pattern of Cu–ZnO/ZrO2 catalysts in the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to methanol
journal, July 2007


Theoretical Study of Methanol Synthesis from CO 2 Hydrogenation on Metal-Doped Cu(111) Surfaces
journal, December 2011

  • Yang, Yixiong; White, Michael G.; Liu, Ping
  • The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 116, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1021/jp208448c

Morphology-Dependent Interactions of ZnO with Cu Nanoparticles at the Materials’ Interface in Selective Hydrogenation of CO2 to CH3OH
journal, January 2011


Effects of oxide carriers on surface functionality and process performance of the Cu–ZnO system in the synthesis of methanol via CO2 hydrogenation
journal, April 2013


In Situ Investigations of Structural Changes in Cu/ZnO Catalysts
journal, September 2000

  • Grunwaldt, J. -D; Molenbroek, A. M.; Topsøe, N. -Y
  • Journal of Catalysis, Vol. 194, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1006/jcat.2000.2930

Formation of a ZnO Overlayer in Industrial Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 Catalysts Induced by Strong Metal-Support Interactions
journal, February 2015

  • Lunkenbein, Thomas; Schumann, Julia; Behrens, Malte
  • Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 54, Issue 15
  • DOI: 10.1002/anie.201411581

Recent advances in catalytic hydrogenation of carbon dioxide
journal, January 2011

  • Wang, Wei; Wang, Shengping; Ma, Xinbin
  • Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 40, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1039/c1cs15008a

Efficiency of ab-initio total energy calculations for metals and semiconductors using a plane-wave basis set
journal, July 1996


Effect of the ZrO2 phase on the structure and behavior of supported Cu catalysts for ethanol conversion
journal, November 2013


Glycine–nitrate combustion synthesis of CuO–ZnO–ZrO2 catalysts for methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation
journal, May 2010


Biaxially strained PtPb/Pt core/shell nanoplate boosts oxygen reduction catalysis
journal, December 2016


Highly active copper-ceria and copper-ceria-titania catalysts for methanol synthesis from CO2
journal, July 2014


Special points for Brillouin-zone integrations
journal, June 1976

  • Monkhorst, Hendrik J.; Pack, James D.
  • Physical Review B, Vol. 13, Issue 12, p. 5188-5192
  • DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.13.5188

Efficient iterative schemes for ab initio total-energy calculations using a plane-wave basis set
journal, October 1996


Transient behavior of Cu/ZnO-based methanol synthesis catalysts
journal, February 2009


Inhomogeneous Electron Gas
journal, November 1964


CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol over CuO–ZnO–ZrO 2 –SiO 2 catalysts: Effects of SiO 2 contents
journal, May 2017

  • Phongamwong, Thanaree; Chantaprasertporn, Usanee; Witoon, Thongthai
  • Chemical Engineering Journal, Vol. 316
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2017.02.010

The Active Site of Methanol Synthesis over Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 Industrial Catalysts
journal, April 2012


Accurate and simple analytic representation of the electron-gas correlation energy
journal, June 1992


The Influence of the Precipitation/Ageing Temperature on a Cu/ZnO/ZrO 2 Catalyst for Methanol Synthesis from H 2 and CO 2
journal, April 2014


Tuning of catalytic CO2 hydrogenation by changing composition of CuO–ZnO–ZrO2 catalysts
journal, June 2016


Reversible Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Formic Acid and Methanol: Lewis Acid Enhancement of Base Metal Catalysts
journal, February 2017


Structure sensitivity of Cu and CuZn catalysts relevant to industrial methanol synthesis
journal, October 2016

  • van den Berg, Roy; Prieto, Gonzalo; Korpershoek, Gerda
  • Nature Communications, Vol. 7, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13057

Role of the Cu-ZrO 2 Interfacial Sites for Conversion of Ethanol to Ethyl Acetate and Synthesis of Methanol from CO 2 and H 2
journal, September 2016


Electronic Modulation of a Copper/Zinc Oxide Catalyst by a Heterojunction for Selective Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol
journal, March 2012

  • Liao, Fenglin; Zeng, Ziyan; Eley, Clive
  • Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 51, Issue 24
  • DOI: 10.1002/anie.201200903

The changing nature of the active site of Cu-Zn-Zr catalysts for the CO2 hydrogenation reaction to methanol
journal, June 2014


In Situ FTIR Spectroscopic Analysis of Carbonate Transformations during Adsorption and Desorption of CO 2 in K-Promoted HTlc
journal, June 2010

  • Du, Hai; Williams, Christopher T.; Ebner, Armin D.
  • Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 22, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1021/cm100703e

A highly selective and stable ZnO-ZrO 2 solid solution catalyst for CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol
journal, October 2017


Formation of a ZnO Overlayer in Industrial Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 Catalysts Induced by Strong Metal-Support Interactions
journal, February 2015

  • Lunkenbein, Thomas; Schumann, Julia; Behrens, Malte
  • Angewandte Chemie, Vol. 127, Issue 15
  • DOI: 10.1002/ange.201411581

Inhomogeneous Electron Gas
journal, March 1973


Electronic Modulation of a Copper/Zinc Oxide Catalyst by a Heterojunction for Selective Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol
journal, March 2012


Morphology-Dependent Interactions of ZnO with Cu Nanoparticles at the Materials’ Interface in Selective Hydrogenation of CO2 to CH3OH
journal, January 2011

  • Liao, Fenglin; Huang, Yaqun; Ge, Junwei
  • Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 50, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1002/anie.201007108

Voltage- and time-dependent valence state transition in cobalt oxide catalysts during the oxygen evolution reaction
journal, April 2020


High-resolution X-ray luminescence extension imaging
journal, February 2021


Electronic structure of AlFeN films exhibiting crystallographic orientation change from c- to a-axis with Fe concentrations and annealing effect
journal, February 2020


Morphology-Dependent Interactions of ZnO with Cu Nanoparticles at the Materials’ Interface in Selective Hydrogenation of CO2 to CH3OH
journal, January 2011


Formation of a ZnO Overlayer in Industrial Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 Catalysts Induced by Strong Metal-Support Interactions
journal, February 2015

  • Lunkenbein, Thomas; Schumann, Julia; Behrens, Malte
  • Angewandte Chemie, Vol. 127, Issue 15
  • DOI: 10.1002/ange.201411581

Mixing Copper Nanoparticles and ZnO Nanocrystals: A Route towards Understanding the Hydrogenation of CO2 to Methanol?
journal, March 2011


Electronic Modulation of a Copper/Zinc Oxide Catalyst by a Heterojunction for Selective Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol
journal, March 2012

  • Liao, Fenglin; Zeng, Ziyan; Eley, Clive
  • Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 51, Issue 24
  • DOI: 10.1002/anie.201200903

The Influence of the Precipitation/Ageing Temperature on a Cu/ZnO/ZrO 2 Catalyst for Methanol Synthesis from H 2 and CO 2
journal, April 2014


Mechanistic study of a new low-temperature methanol synthesis on Cu/MgO catalysts
journal, July 2005


Solid-state interactions, adsorption sites and functionality of Cu-ZnO/ZrO2 catalysts in the CO2 hydrogenation to CH3OH
journal, November 2008


The changing nature of the active site of Cu-Zn-Zr catalysts for the CO2 hydrogenation reaction to methanol
journal, June 2014


CO2 hydrogenation to methanol over Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 catalysts prepared by precipitation-reduction method
journal, August 2016


Reverse water-gas shift reaction at the Cu/ZnO interface: Influence of the Cu/Zn ratio on structure-activity correlations
journal, October 2016

  • Álvarez Galván, Consuelo; Schumann, Julia; Behrens, Malte
  • Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol. 195
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2016.05.007

CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol over CuO–ZnO–ZrO 2 –SiO 2 catalysts: Effects of SiO 2 contents
journal, May 2017

  • Phongamwong, Thanaree; Chantaprasertporn, Usanee; Witoon, Thongthai
  • Chemical Engineering Journal, Vol. 316
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2017.02.010

Synthesis, characterization and activity pattern of Cu–ZnO/ZrO2 catalysts in the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to methanol
journal, July 2007


Transient behavior of Cu/ZnO-based methanol synthesis catalysts
journal, February 2009


Glycine–nitrate combustion synthesis of CuO–ZnO–ZrO2 catalysts for methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation
journal, May 2010


Effects of oxide carriers on surface functionality and process performance of the Cu–ZnO system in the synthesis of methanol via CO2 hydrogenation
journal, April 2013


Effect of the ZrO2 phase on the structure and behavior of supported Cu catalysts for ethanol conversion
journal, November 2013


Challenges in the Greener Production of Formates/Formic Acid, Methanol, and DME by Heterogeneously Catalyzed CO 2 Hydrogenation Processes
journal, May 2017


Role of the Cu-ZrO 2 Interfacial Sites for Conversion of Ethanol to Ethyl Acetate and Synthesis of Methanol from CO 2 and H 2
journal, September 2016


In Situ FTIR Spectroscopic Analysis of Carbonate Transformations during Adsorption and Desorption of CO 2 in K-Promoted HTlc
journal, June 2010

  • Du, Hai; Williams, Christopher T.; Ebner, Armin D.
  • Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 22, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1021/cm100703e

Optimizing Binding Energies of Key Intermediates for CO 2 Hydrogenation to Methanol over Oxide-Supported Copper
journal, September 2016

  • Kattel, Shyam; Yan, Binhang; Yang, Yixiong
  • Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 138, Issue 38
  • DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b05791

Tuning Selectivity of CO 2 Hydrogenation Reactions at the Metal/Oxide Interface
journal, July 2017

  • Kattel, Shyam; Liu, Ping; Chen, Jingguang G.
  • Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 139, Issue 29
  • DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b05362

Theoretical Study of Methanol Synthesis from CO 2 Hydrogenation on Metal-Doped Cu(111) Surfaces
journal, December 2011

  • Yang, Yixiong; White, Michael G.; Liu, Ping
  • The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 116, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1021/jp208448c

Adsorption of CO 2 at ZnO: A Surface Structure Effect from DFT+ U Calculations
journal, October 2013

  • Tang, Qian-Lin; Luo, Qing-Hong
  • The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 117, Issue 44
  • DOI: 10.1021/jp407970a

Structure sensitivity of Cu and CuZn catalysts relevant to industrial methanol synthesis
journal, October 2016

  • van den Berg, Roy; Prieto, Gonzalo; Korpershoek, Gerda
  • Nature Communications, Vol. 7, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13057

Recent advances in catalytic hydrogenation of carbon dioxide
journal, January 2011

  • Wang, Wei; Wang, Shengping; Ma, Xinbin
  • Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 40, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1039/c1cs15008a

Au/3DOM Co3O4: highly active nanocatalysts for the oxidation of carbon monoxide and toluene
journal, January 2013

  • Xie, Shaohua; Dai, Hongxing; Deng, Jiguang
  • Nanoscale, Vol. 5, Issue 22
  • DOI: 10.1039/c3nr04126c

A climbing image nudged elastic band method for finding saddle points and minimum energy paths
journal, December 2000

  • Henkelman, Graeme; Uberuaga, Blas P.; Jónsson, Hannes
  • The Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 113, Issue 22, p. 9901-9904
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.1329672

The Active Site of Methanol Synthesis over Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 Industrial Catalysts
journal, April 2012


Quantifying the promotion of Cu catalysts by ZnO for methanol synthesis
journal, May 2016


Biaxially strained PtPb/Pt core/shell nanoplate boosts oxygen reduction catalysis
journal, December 2016


Works referencing / citing this record:

Rational Engineering of Multilayered Co 3 O 4 /ZnO Nanocatalysts through Chemical Transformations from Matryoshka‐Type ZIFs
journal, August 2019

  • Huang, Zhongliang; Fan, Longlong; Zhao, Feigang
  • Advanced Functional Materials, Vol. 29, Issue 42
  • DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201903774

CO2 hydrogenation to high-value products via heterogeneous catalysis
journal, December 2019


Selective hydrogenation of CO 2 over a Ce promoted Cu-based catalyst confined by SBA-15
journal, January 2019

  • Hu, Xiaosong; Zhao, Chaoyue; Guan, Qingxin
  • Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers, Vol. 6, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1039/c9qi00397e