MOF-derived Cu-ZnO-ZrO₂ catalysts for CH₃OH synthesis from CO₂ hydrogenation

Metal-oxide interaction is crucial in catalyst performance. Using MOF as precursor can improve the metal-oxide interface on the catalysts. This work explores the properties of the MOF-derived Cu-Zn-Zr catalysts (CZZ-HN, CZZ-C Z-HNPs, CZZ-ZB, CZZ-Z and CZZ-U) in the hydrogenation of CO₂ to CH₃OH with reference to the conventional catalysts (CZZ-CP) prepared by co-precipitation. The catalyst structure is found to be closely related to the catalyst composition and the MOF type. The evaluation results imply that the CO₂ hydrogenation activity is related to the number of surface Cu sites, and different Cu sites influence the product distribution. Among the investigated catalysts, the metal-oxide interface is greatly enhanced on CZZ-HN due to the proper match of element composition and MOF type (high amount of Cu with Cu-MOF precursor), which shows improved STY_CH3OH and TOF_CH3OH compared with CZZ-CP. This study verifies the enhancement of metal-oxide interface by the MOF-derivation method, and inspires further optimization of catalyst structure by matching synthesis formula and MOF types for various reactions.