Understanding and Application of Strong Metal–Support Interactions in Conversion of CO₂ to Methanol: A Review

Abstract

Synthesis of methanol from CO 2 hydrogenation is a highly attractive route for recycling greenhouse gases to produce clean and value-added fuels and chemicals, simultaneously mitigating the CO 2 emission and obtaining useful feedstock. Heterogeneous catalysts have been the pillar for CO 2 catalytic transformation. The strong metal−support interaction (SMSI) is of great importance for supported catalysts. In addition, the SMSI can be used to enhance the catalytic activity and selectivity to the desired product as well as the stability of the catalysts. Understanding the SMSI is the key to gain deep insights into the structure−activity relationship, which provides valuable guideline for rational design of highly efficient and selective catalysts for methanol synthesis from CO 2 hydrogenation. In this review, we present an overview of the advances of CO 2 reduction to methanol with focus on catalytic performance, structure characterization, and reaction mechanism for rational design of desired catalysts.

2021 Pioneers in Energy Research: Vivian Yam

“…There are three articles on this topic. Ma and co-workers present a review on recent progress in CO 2 reduction to methanol, focusing on the catalytic performance, structure characterization, and reaction mechanism for catalyst design. Ko and co-workers show the development of efficient and robust rhenium-based two-component photocatalytic systems by combining an active rhenium­(I) catalyst for activating CO 2 with a highly photostable photosensitizer.…”

Advances and Perspectives of Photopromoted CO2 Hydrogenation for Methane Production: Catalyst Development and Mechanism Investigations

“…Catalytic CO 2 hydrogenation, as a promising strategy of CCU, has attracted extensive research interest and has already gained practical applications, which can mitigate CO 2 emissions, reduce reliance on nonrenewable resources, and minimize the environmental impact of fossil fuels. − Through this process, CO 2 can be converted into a variety of specific high-value products, including methane, carbon monoxide, methanol, olefins, and paraffins, which can be further processed to produce industrial substances, such as alkanes, formic acid, and many other organic materials . Among them, methane as a clean energy source with high energy density is in high demand globally as it is the primary constituent of natural gas .…”

Supported Cu3 clusters on graphitic carbon nitride as an efficient catalyst for CO electroreduction to propene

“…17 In particular, the strong metal-support interactions may also maximize the undercoordinated active sites, facilitating their extraordinary activity in practical applications. 32 Due to the large specic surface area, two-dimensional (2D) materials hold great promise as ideal substrates to support SMCs. [33][34][35] Among various 2D nanomaterials, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) has been regarded as an excellent substrate for supporting metal-based catalysts, because it contains intrinsic evenly distributed holes surrounded by electron-rich N atoms, which can provide abundant electron lone pairs for anchoring metal ions within its ligands.…”