CO2 hydrogenation to methanol on the incapsulated Cu-Zn catalyst: Effect of the MCM-41 and SBA-15 supports and the method of preparation on catalytic activity

The catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide toward methanol is of great practical and scientific importance in the concept of reducing CO 2 emissions. Moreover, it can partially solve the problem of human dependence on non-renewable resources. The development of selective and active catalysts for CO 2 hydrogenation is a key point due to the strong thermodynamic limitations and chemical stability of CO 2 . In this work, the influence of the nature of the mesoporous supports, as well as the method of introducing the active component, on the catalytic properties of Cu-Zn catalysts in the CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol was investigated. A series of bimetallic Cu-Zn catalysts deposited on mesoporous MCM-41 and SBA-15 supports were prepared by two methods: encapsulation and incipient wetness impregnation. The obtained catalysts were characterized by N 2 adsorption, XRD, SEM-EDX, TG-DTA methods. The highest CO 2 conversion and methanol space-time yield were observed over the encapsulated Cu-Zn catalyst based on the MCM-41 support. The optimal process temperature was 280 ​°C, at which a high selectivity of 92 ​% methanol formation was achieved while maintaining the best CO 2 conversion. The study demonstrates the prospects of using bimetallic Cu-Zn catalysts encapsulated in MCM-41 for direct CO 2 hydrogenation for ​« ​green ​» ​methanol production. The encapsulated Cu-Zn catalysts in the hydrogenation of CO 2 to methanol was investigated. The influence of the nature of the mesoporous supports and the method of introducing the active component of Cu-Zn catalysts in the hydrogenation of CO 2 to methanol was investigated. The bimetallic Cu-Zn catalysts encapsulated in MCM-41 for direct CO 2 hydrogenation to produce methanol with the selectivity to methanol is 86%–92%. The Cu-Zn catalysts were characterized by the methods of N 2 adsorption, XRD, SEM-EDX, TG-DTA.