Ru‐Doped UiO‐66‐Derived ZrO ₂ ‐Enhanced Photothermal Catalytic CO ₂ Hydrogenation to Methane

Currently, there is a thermodynamic and kinetic mismatch between carbon dioxide methanation. Carbon dioxide is stable in nature and requires a highly active catalyst to facilitate its reduction reaction. In this article, Ru/ZrO 2 catalysts are prepared by a structure‐directed derivatization strategy using zirconium‐based metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) (UiO‐66) as precursors. The porous framework structure of MOFs was utilized to construct Ru nanoparticles with a large size (≈9.7 nm). Photothermal catalysis is employed, and the photoexcitation induced the transfer of electrons from the conduction band of ZrO 2 to Ru, which elevated the electron density of Ru to the enriched state and promoted the activation of CO 2 adsorption, while the photothermal effect facilitated the warming of the catalyst bureau, which provided a favorable condition for CO 2 methanation. The compositional valence, morphology, specific surface area, bandgap and other properties of the catalysts were evaluated by X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscpe, Brunner‐Emmet‐Teller measurements, hydrogen temperature‐programmed reduction, CO 2 ‐TPD, ultraviolet–visible, photoluminescence, and photocurrent response characterization. The experimental results showed that 99% methane selectivity and 120.354 mmol g cat −1 h −1 methane yield were achieved at 1 MPa and photothermal (250 °C) conditions.