Effect of support and reduction temperature in the hydrogenation of CO2 over the Cu–Pd bimetallic catalyst with high Cu/Pd ratio

Metal-support interaction and catalyst pretreatment are important for industrial catalysis. This work investigated the effect of supports (SiO2, CeO2, TiO2 and ZrO2) for Cu–Pd catalyst with high Cu/Pd ratio (Cu/Pd = 33.5) regarding catalyst cost, and the reduction temperatures of 350 °C and 550 °C were compared. The activity based on catalyst weight follows the order of Si > Ce > Zr > Ti when reduced at 350 °C. The reduction temperature leads to the surface reconstruction over the SiO2, CeO2 and TiO2 catalysts, while results in phase transition over Cu–Pd/ZrO2. The effect of reduction temperature on catalytic performance is prominent for the SiO2 and ZrO2 supported catalysts but not for the CeO2 and TiO2 ones. Among the investigated catalysts, Zr-350 exhibits the highest methanol yield. This work reveals the importance of the supports and pretreatment conditions on the physical-chemical properties and the catalytic performance of the Cu–Pd bimetallic catalysts.