CuO-In2O3 Catalysts Supported on Halloysite Nanotubes for CO2 Hydrogenation to Dimethyl Ether

Hydrogenation of CO2 relative to valuable chemical compounds such as methanol or dimethyl ether (DME) is an attractive route for reducing CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. In the present work, the hydrogenation of CO2 into DME over CuO-In2O3, supported on halloysite nanotubes (HNT) was investigated in the temperature range 200–300 °C at 40 atm. HNT appears to be novel promising support for bifunctional catalysts due to its thermal stability and the presence of acidic sites on its surface. CuO-In2O3/HNT catalysts demonstrate higher CO2 conversion and DME selectivity compared to non-indium CuO/HNT catalysts. The catalysts were investigated by N2 adsorption, X-ray diffraction, hydrogen-temperature programmed reduction and transition electron microscopy. The acid sites were analyzed by temperature programmed desorption of ammonia. It was shown that CuO/HNT was unstable under reaction conditions in contrast to CuO-In2O3/HNT. The best CuO-In2O3/HNT catalyst provided CO2 conversion of 7.6% with 65% DME selectivity under P = 40 atm, T = 250 °C, gas hour space velocity 12,000 h−1 and H2:CO2 = 3:1.