Direct Formation of the Atomic Pd-ZnO Interface by Magnetron Sputtering Primed for Methanol Production from CO₂

Carbon dioxide is not only a greenhouse gas but also a valuable feedstock for producing chemicals and fuels, especially methanol, which serves as an energy storage medium and a precursor for olefins and gasoline. Herein, we show that a clean, atomically defined interface between a Pd catalyst and a ZnO support allows for the direct production of methanol from CO₂ without any catalyst activation or induction period. Using magnetron sputtering, Pd atoms are directly deposited onto the ZnO surface, self-assembling into Pd nanoclusters with a high fraction of surface atoms, driven solely by the surface chemistry of ZnO, eliminating the need for solvents, reagents, or ligands. This atomically defined Pd/ZnO interface facilitates Pd-Zn alloying in situ during the reaction, achieving an impressive methanol production rate of 16.4 mol h^-1 mol^-1 _Pd, outperforming catalysts prepared by other methods. By eliminating interfacial impurities and the consequent need for pretreatment, our work establishes magnetron sputtering as a transformative method for fabricating high-performance catalysts.