[Ce 3+ -O V -Ce 4+ ] Located Surface-Distributed Sheet Cu-Zn-Ce Catalysts for Methanol Production by CO 2 Hydrogenation.

The metal-support interaction is crucial for the performance of Cu-based catalysts. However, the distinctive properties of the support metal element itself are often overlooked in catalyst design. In this paper, a sheet Cu-Zn-Ce with [Ce 3+ -O V -Ce 4+ ] located on the surface was designed by the sol-gel method. Through EPR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the relationship between the content of oxygen vacancies and Ce was revealed. Ce itself induces the generation of [Ce 3+ -O V -Ce 4+ ]. Through ICP-MS, XPS, and SEM-mapping, the Ce-induced formation of [Ce 3+ -O V -Ce 4+ ] located on the catalyst surface was demonstrated. CO 2 -TPD and DFT calculations further revealed that [Ce 3+ -O V -Ce 4+ ] enhanced CO 2 adsorption, leading to a 10% increase in methanol selectivity compared to Cu-Zn-Ce synthesized via the coprecipitation method.