A combination of experimental and theoretical methods were employed to investigate the synthesis of methanol via CO(2) hydrogenation (CO(2) + 3H(2)--> CH(3)OH + H(2)O) on Cu(111) and Cu nanoparticle surfaces. High pressure reactivity studies show that Cu nanoparticles supported on a ZnO(0001[combining macron]) single crystal exhibit a higher catalytic activity than the Cu(111) planar surface. Complementary density functional theory (DFT) calculations of methanol synthesis were also performed for a Cu(111) surface and unsupported Cu(29) nanoparticles, and the results support a higher activity for Cu nanoparticles. The DFT calculations show that methanol synthesis on Cu surfaces proceeds through a formate intermediate and the overall reaction rate is limited by both formate and dioxomethylene hydrogenation. Moreover, the superior activity of the nanoparticle is associated with its fluxionality and the presence of low-coordinated Cu sites, which stabilize the key intermediates, e.g. formate and dioxomethylene, and lower the barrier for the rate-limiting hydrogenation process. The reverse water-gas-shift (RWGS) reaction (CO(2) + H(2)--> CO + H(2)O) was experimentally observed to compete with methanol synthesis and was also considered in our DFT calculations. In agreement with experiment, the rate of the RWGS reaction on Cu nanoparticles is estimated to be approximately 2 orders of magnitude faster than methanol synthesis at T = 573 K. The experiments and calculations also indicate that CO produced by the fast RWGS reaction does not undergo subsequent hydrogenation to methanol, but instead simply accumulates as a product. Methanol production from CO hydrogenation via the RWGS pathway is hindered by the first hydrogenation of CO to formyl, which is not stable and prefers to dissociate into CO and H atoms on Cu. Our calculated results suggest that the methanol yield over Cu-based catalysts could be improved by adding dopants or promoters which are able to stabilize formyl species or facilitate the hydrogenation of formate and dioxomethylene.

The high thermochemical stability of CO 2 makes very difficult the catalytic conversion of the molecule into alcohols or other hydrocarbon compounds which can be used as fuels or the starting point for the generation of fine chemicals. Pure metals and bimetallic systems used for the CO 2 → CH 3 OH conversion usually bind CO 2 too weakly and, thus, show low catalytic activity. Here, we discuss a series of recent studies that illustrate the advantages of metal-oxide and metal-carbide interfaces when aiming at the conversion of CO 2 into methanol. CeO x /Cu(111), Cu/CeO x /TiO 2 (110) andAu/CeO x /TiO 2 (110) exhibit an activity for the CO 2 → CH 3 OH conversion that is 2-3 orders of magnitude higher than that of a benchmark Cu(111) catalyst. In the Cu-ceria and Au-ceria interfaces, the multifunctional combination of metal and oxide centers leads to complementary chemical properties that open active reaction pathways for methanol synthesis. Efficient catalysts are also generated after depositing Cu and Au on TiC(001). In these cases, strong-metal support interactions modify the electronic properties of the admetals and make them active for the binding of CO 2 and its subsequent transformation into CH 3 OH at the metal-carbide interfaces.

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations were employed to investigate the methanol synthesis reaction from CO2 hydrogenation (CO2 + 3H2 → CH3OH + H2O) on metal-doped Cu(111) surfaces. Both the formate pathway and the reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reaction followed by a CO hydrogenation pathway (RWGS + CO-Hydro) were considered in the study. Our calculations showed that the overall methanol yield increased in the sequence: Au/Cu(111) < Cu(111) < Pd/Cu(111) < Rh/Cu(111) < Pt/Cu(111) < Ni/Cu(111). On Au/Cu(111) and Cu(111), the formate pathway dominates the methanol production. Doping Au does not help the methanol synthesis on Cu(111). Pd, Rh, Pt, and Ni are able to promote the methanol production on Cu(111), where the conversion via the RWGS + CO-Hydro pathway is much faster than that via the formate pathway. Further kinetic analysis revealed that the methanol yield on Cu(111) was controlled by three factors: the dioxomethylene hydrogenation barrier, the CO binding energy, and the CO hydrogenation barrier. Accordingly, two possible descriptors are identified which can be used to describe the catalytic activity of Cu-based catalysts toward methanol synthesis. One is the activation barrier of dioxomethylene hydrogenation, and the other is the CO binding energy. An ideal Cu-based catalyst for the methanol synthesis via CO2 hydrogenation should be able to hydrogenate dioxomethylene easily and bond CO moderately, being strong enough to favor the desired CO hydrogenation rather than CO desorption but weak enough to prevent CO poisoning. In this way, the methanol production via both the formate and the RWGS + CO-Hydro pathways can be facilitated.