Hydroxylated TiO2-induced high-density Ni clusters for breaking the activity-selectivity trade-off of CO2 hydrogenation
Congxiao Wang, Hao‐Xin Liu, Hao Gu, Jinying Li, Xiao-Meng Lai, Xin‐Pu Fu, Wei-Wei Wang, Qiang Fu, Feng Ryan Wang, Chao Ma, Chun‐Jiang Jia
Abstract
Abstract The reverse water gas shift reaction can be considered as a promising route to mitigate global warming by converting CO 2 into syngas in a large scale, while it is still challenging for non-Cu-based catalysts to break the trade-off between activity and selectivity. Here, the relatively high loading of Ni species is highly dispersed on hydroxylated TiO 2 through the strong Ni and −OH interactions, thereby inducing the formation of rich and stable Ni clusters (~1 nm) on anatase TiO 2 during the reverse water gas shift reaction. This Ni cluster/TiO 2 catalyst shows a simultaneous high CO 2 conversion and high CO selectivity. Comprehensive characterizations and theoretical calculations demonstrate Ni cluster/TiO 2 interfacial sites with strong CO 2 activation capacity and weak CO adsorption are responsible for its unique catalytic performances. This work disentangles the activity-selectivity trade-off of the reverse water gas shift reaction, and emphasizes the importance of metal−OH interactions on surface.