Highly active Au/d-MoC and Cu/d-MoC catalysts for the conversion of CO2: The metal/C ratio as a key factor defining activity, selectivity and stability

The ever growing increase of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is one of the main causes of global warming. Thus, CO2 activation and conversion towards valuable added compounds is a major scientific challenge. A new set of Au/δ-MoC and Cu/δ-MoC catalysts exhibits high activity, selectivity, and st...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Authors: Posada Pérez, Sergio, Ramírez, Pedro J., Evans, Jaime, Viñes Solana, Francesc, Liu, Ping, Illas i Riera, Francesc, Rodríguez, José A.
Format: article
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2016
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Barcelona
Repository:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/113204
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/113204
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Reducció de gasos d'efecte hivernacle
Metanol
Catàlisi
Greenhouse gas mitigation
Methanol
Catalysis
Description
Summary:The ever growing increase of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is one of the main causes of global warming. Thus, CO2 activation and conversion towards valuable added compounds is a major scientific challenge. A new set of Au/δ-MoC and Cu/δ-MoC catalysts exhibits high activity, selectivity, and stability for the reduction of CO2 to CO with some subsequent selective hydrogenation towards methanol. Sophisticated experiments under controlled conditions and calculations based on density functional theory have been used to study the unique behavior of these systems. A detailed comparison of the behavior of Au/β-Mo2C and Au/δ-MoC catalysts provides evidence of the impact of the metal/carbon ratio in the carbide on the performance of the catalysts. The present results show that this ratio governs the chemical behavior of the carbide and the properties of the admetal, up to the point of being able to switch the rate and mechanism of the process for CO2 conversion. A control of the metal/carbon ratio paves the road for an efficient reutilization of this environmental harmful greenhouse gas.

Similar Items