Cu/ZnO catalysts for low-temperature methanol synthesis from CO2-containing syngas suffer activity and stability limits. Adding Ba regulated oxygen vacancies at Cu-Zn interfaces, reaching a TOF of 21.2 × 10^-3 s^-1 and methanol space-time yield of 655.17 g kgcat^-1 h^-1. Ba increased exposed Cu0 area, dispersion and basic sites while suppressing sintering. DFT supported interfacial oxygen vacancies as primary active sites.
Key findings
- Optimized catalysts achieved a TOF of 21.2 × 10^-3 s^-1 and STY of 655.17 g kgcat^-1 h^-1. Ba increased exposed Cu0 and dispersion, suppressed sintering and enriched basic sites. DFT located favorable vacancies and primary activity at the interface.
Why this matters globally
If durability and scale-up are confirmed, lower-temperature operation could reduce process energy for chemical storage and CO2 utilization. The interface-engineering principle may also transfer to other metal-oxide catalysts.
Thai researcher contribution
Prasert Reubroycharoen and Noritatsu Tsubaki are affiliated with Chulalongkorn University within the international materials and mechanistic team; individual roles are not specified in the abstract.
Limitations to consider
Activity metrics depend on conditions and are not directly comparable across different feeds, pressures or normalization. The abstract lacks long-duration, impurity, regeneration, Ba-cost and life-cycle energy/carbon evidence. DFT supports but does not directly prove the active site.
Verify the original sources
Journal of the American Chemical SocietyRead the original article↗DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6c02328