UiO-66-Ce derived cerium oxide supported Cu/ZnO methanol synthesis catalysts: optimization of interfacial sites and oxygen vacancy for CO2 activation

• MOF-derived oxide framework is an excellent support for Cu-ZnO catalysts. • MOF supported catalysts demonstrated high interfacial sites and oxygen vacancies. • Increased Zn loading decreased Cu particle sizes but covers Cu surface. • CuZn0.5@UiO-66 showed the best methanol synthesis performance. Thermocatalytic hydrogenation of CO 2 to methanol represents a promising technology for mitigating carbon emissions while generating value-added fuels and chemical feedstocks. In this work, Cu/ZnO catalysts supported on UiO-66-Ce derived oxide frameworks were synthesized via urea hydrolysis. The UiO-66-Ce derived support provided a favorable support for anchoring Cu and ZnO x , as confirmed by XRD, TEM, CO 2 -TPD, and XPS characterizations. Catalytic activity tests revealed that CuZn0.5@UiO-66 achieved the highest space time yield (STY) of 373.4 gMeOH·kgcat −1 ·h −1 at 220 °C and 40 bar. Long-term activity test over 150 h showed stable performance of the catalyst without any deactivation. The excellent performance is attributed to finely dispersed Cu species and enhanced metal–support interactions due to Zn incorporation, as well as large amount of oxygen vacancies due to the MOF-derived support. This study highlights the potential application of MOFs as catalyst supports for efficient CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol.