Enhanced CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol on the Mesostructured Cu-ZnO/Al2O3-ZrO2 Catalyst

In order to obtain high catalytic performance of CO2 hydrogenation to methanol, mesostructured Cu-ZnO/Al2O3-ZrO2 (CZAZ) catalysts were prepared, and the microstructure and surface properties were optimized by the weight ratio of Al2O3 and ZrO2. Due to the uniform mesoporous structure and strong interaction of Cu with the support, the mesostructured CZAZ-8 catalyst (Al2O3 weight amount in Al2O3-ZrO2 was 80%) had a higher active surface area of metallic Cu and more interfaces of Cu and CO2 adsorption sites, which promoted the CO2 conversion. In addition, ZrO2 added to supports endowed the catalysts with a strong basic surface, and the smaller Cu particles increased the interfaces of Cu with ZnO, which increased the selectivity to methanol. Finally, the catalyst CZAZ-8 with a well-ordered mesostructure exhibited a higher space time yield of methanol in the CO2 hydrogenation.