Cu-ZrO₂ catalysts with highly dispersed Cu nanoclusters derived from ZrO₂@ HKUST-1 composites for the enhanced CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol

In this study, a series of Cu-ZrO₂ catalysts with highly dispersed Cu nanoclusters were prepared via the calcination and reduction of ZrO₂@HKUST-1 precursors. These catalysts demonstrated an outstanding selectivity in the yield of methanol during CO₂ hydrogenation. The space-time yield (STY) of methanol is 5.2 times higher than that of those similar catalysts reported by other researchers, which were prepared using conventional method and tested under the same testing conditions. Density functional theory (DFT) study revealed that the activation of CO₂ occurs at the Cu-ZrO₂ interfaces and facilitates the hydrogenation of CO₂ to methanol. It is concluded that the controlled formation of the highly dispersed Cu nanoclusters not only provides a large number of highly efficient active centers for CO₂ hydrogenation, but also leads the generation of more Cu-ZrO₂ interfaces. These two effects contribute to the superior catalytic performance of the nano Cu-ZrO₂ catalyst in CO₂ hydrogenation.