Origin of the Excellent Performance of Ru on Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanofibers for CO2 Hydrogenation to CH4

Carbon materials have rarely been used as support for CO2 methanation, which is usually carried out using catalysts supported on metal oxides. Here, it is shown that Ru nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (NCNF) provide competitive CH4 production rate and stability compared to Al2O3-supported catalysts. Contrary to the general belief about the inert nature of carbon supports, it is demonstrated that NCNF is a non-innocent spectator in CO2 methanation due to its ability to store a high amount of COad reaction intermediates. This explains the excellent catalytic behaviour afforded by this unconventional catalyst support.