Synthesis of Alkene and Ethanol in CO<sub>2</sub> Hydrogenation on a Highly Active Sputtering CuNaFe Catalyst
Zhiyan Si, Linkai Wang, Yu Han, Jiafeng Yu, Qingjie Ge, Chunyang Zeng, Jian Sun
Abstract
Catalytic hydrogenation of carbon dioxide into chemicals and fuels has moved into the spotlight in the recent carbon-neutral age. However, this sustainable process is still a low efficiency one due to the limitations of the catalyst materials. Herein, we designed a highly active CuNaFe catalyst with a self-made physical sputtering method for CO2 hydrogenation. The total space time yield (STY) rate of high-value olefin and ethanol can reach as high as 833 mg·g–1·h–1 under a mild condition of 310 °C and 3 MPa, which ranks as one of the top performances among related studies. The characterizations demonstrate that the surface of highly dispersed Cu nanoparticles coupled with surrounding Na modified Fe5C2 creates a well-matched process of C–O activation, C–C coupling, and C–O insertion. These findings provide a new and general strategy to fabricate a high-efficiency catalyst for direct CO2 hydrogenation into useful chemicals.