Researchers at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics have developed a catalyst that improves CO2 to methanol conversion by roughly three times compared to conventional commercial catalysts. The design uses a strong metal-support interaction to spatially separate reaction steps, reducing unwanted byproducts like carbon monoxide while maintaining high activity. The catalyst achieved a space-time yield of 1.2 g per gram of catalyst per hour at 300 degrees Celsius and 3 MPa pressure. This advancement addresses a long-standing trade-off in methanol synthesis: lower temperatures favor methanol formation but slow the reaction, while higher temperatures speed it up but produce more CO. By steering CO2 to adsorb on zirconia sites and following a formate pathway, the new catalyst shifts the reaction sequence to hydrogenate first and break the C=O bond later. The work was published in the journal Chem and could support broader efforts to recycle CO2 into useful fuels and chemicals.
