Improved copper-based catalysts for alcohol-assisted CO2 hydrogenation: A comparative study between novel nano-stabilized and deposition-precipitation method

A growing awareness of the need to control CO2 concentration in atmosphere spurs the demand for novel technologies to convert CO2 to useful chemicals. The conversion of CO2 into high-quality liquid fuel such as methanol is a primary focus, and using active catalysts is the key to achieving successful methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation under mild conditions. A new way of synthesizing catalysts with highly dispersed nano copper particles, as well as the characteristics of the catalysts are reported in this study. This is the first instance of methanol catalysts being prepared using a combination of copolymer of polyethylene glycol and maleic acid (PEG-MA) as a stabilizer and layered hydrotalcite (HTC) as a support material. This resulted in a significant decrease in particle size and exhibited efficient catalytic performance in a 1-butanol promoted CO2 hydrogenation reaction at 170 degrees C, 3 MPa. The work also confirms the status of Zn as an influential factor for methanol synthesis. The application of ion-exchange process and stabilizers in catalyst preparation process effectively improves the CO2 conversion rate and methanol selectivity, which also inspires the development of catalysts in various fields.