It is desirable to reduce the reliance
on fossil fuels and to develop
alternative methods to yield valuable chemicals. CO2 hydrogenation
to methanol is a promising approach, where In2O3/ZrO2 catalysts have attracted increasing attention due
to their high selectivity and stability. However, the activity of
indium-based catalysts is very susceptible to the preparation method,
which is typically wet impregnation. Here, we explore a laser-based
synthesis route to prepare InO
x
/ZrO2 catalysts of varying indium size and load. The respective
particle sizes were either adjusted by in situ fragmentation with
a more (ns-VIS-laser) or less (ns-IR-laser) efficient laser wavelength
or by using micromolar concentrations of phosphate as an electrostatic
stabilizer. The InO
x
colloids were subsequently
deposited onto ZrO2 Our results demonstrate that the pulsed
laser ablation with ns-IR-laser pulses yielded larger ∼45 nm
crystalline cuboid InO
x
supported on zirconia.
The frequency-doubled ns-VIS-pulses on the other hand caused an augmented
in situ fragmentation during ablation, which led to catalysts with
spherical ∼14 nm InO
x
particles
with a significantly higher degree of amorphousness. Further size
quenching and increased amorphous content of the InO
x
nanoparticles were observed when micromolar concentrations
of phosphates were additionally present during ablation. After supporting
the InO
x
nanoparticles onto ZrO2, the laser-generated catalysts were found to perform equally well
as their wet-chemically prepared counterparts for methanol synthesis
in a slurry phase, although crystalline In species performed slightly
better in the catalytic reaction. In conclusion, in situ fragmentation
does not only provide opportunities for independent studies of size
and composition but also ripening control and structural modifications
such as amorphization.