Improved methanol yield and selectivity from CO2 hydrogenation using a novel Cu-ZnO-ZrO2 catalyst supported on Mg-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH)

Abstract

Methanol synthesis via CO2 hydrogenation is an important part of the strategy for generating clean energy as we attempt to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. Conventional catalysts for this reaction need improvement in their methanol selectivity. In this work, a layered double hydroxide (Mg-Al LDH) was used as a carrier for Cu-ZnO-ZrO2 to produce a catalyst by co-precipitation. From characterization results, CuO-ZnO-ZrO2 nanoparticles were formed and were uniformly dispersed and attached to the surface of LDH. BET surface area and copper dispersion of the catalysts were significantly improved by 4.3 times and 2.9 times, respectively, compared with a reference catalyst without the support..