The regulation of Cu-ZnO interface by Cu-Zn bimetallic metal organic framework-templated strategy for enhanced CO2 hydrogenation to methanol

Rich Cu-ZnO interfaces play a significant role in Cu/ZnO catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. However, the low methanol selectivity and catalytic stability of reported Cu/ZnO catalysts mainly ascribe to the reduction of Cu-ZnO interfaces, which caused by the agglomeration of Cu nanoparticles. Herein, Cu/ZnO catalysts (named CuxZnO-MOF-74–350) with rich Cu-ZnO interfaces were prepared by using Cu-Zn bimetallic metal organic framework (MOFs)-templated strategy (x is the feeding ratios of Cu/Zn). Especially, CuZnO-MOF-74–350 catalyst exhibited high methanol selectivity of about 80% at a CO2 conversion of 7.5%, and had long-term durability for 100 h at 190 ºC under 4.0 MPa. The great catalytic performance mainly resulted from rich interfaces, which were conducive to the adsorption of CO2 and the formation of intermediate. This study provides a novel strategy for optimizing the activity of catalysts in the view of the regulation of interface.