Morphologically tuned CuO-ZnO-CeO 2 catalyst for CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol.

Morphologically modified composite CuO-ZnO-CeO 2 catalysts were synthesized using a single-step hydrothermal technique. The study highlights the influence of solvent on the structural and physico-chemical properties of the catalysts. Various techniques, such as XRD, FE-SEM, BET, XPS, and H 2 -TPR, were used to analyze the catalyst properties. Among the synthesized materials, the catalyst, prepared with a N , N -dimethyl formamide (DMF)-to-metal nitrates ratio of 20 (named as CZC-1), showed enhanced active sites in the form of surface features such as nanowire-like morphology, large surface area, low crystallite size, increased oxygen vacancies, and high CuO dispersion. A bench-scale fixed-bed flow reactor was used to examine the catalytic performance of the catalysts. At 225 °C reactor temperature, 30 bar reactor pressure, and with a space velocity of 6000 cm 3 g cat -1 h -1 , the CZC-1 catalyst showed 13.6% CO 2 conversion and 74.1% methanol selectivity. In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) analysis confirmed the carbonate-formate-methoxy reaction pathway for methanol formation using the CZC-1 catalyst.