Recently,the international academic journalCatalysis Science & Technologypublished a paper entitled "Probing the morphological effects of ReO_x/CeO₂ catalysts on CO2 hydrogenation reaction" online. The new research result was achieved under the joint efforts ofZhang Lingxia's research group from the School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study (HIAS), UCAS/Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)and Huazhong University of Science and Technology. This research has confirmed how the morphological effects of the catalysts affect oxygen vacancy concentration, metal-support interaction, and catalytic activity. Meanwhile, with the proposal of the influencing mechanism of such morphology effects on the activity of catalytic CO₂ hydrogenation, new theoretical support has been provided for the catalytic conversion of CO₂.(https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CY02096J)

Converting CO₂into CO and CH₄ through heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation is an important means to reduce CO₂ emissions and realize its recycling. The findings show that supported catalysts play a significant role in the catalytic hydrogenation of CO². The regulation of catalytic activity and selectivity can be realized by changing the morphology and crystal planes of catalyst supports.

Using the hydrothermal method, the authors of the paper prepared CeO2-supported rhenium (Re) catalysts, including CeO₂ nanocube supported Re (ReO_x/CeO₂-C), CeO₂ nanorod supported Re (ReO_x/CeO₂-R), and CeO₂ nanopolyhedron supported Re (ReO_x/CeO₂-P). It is found that the catalytic activity is related to the morphological effects. The conversion rate of CO2 via the ReO_x/CeO₂-R is 14.7%, a much higher result compared with other catalysts. The catalyst ReO_x/CeO₂-R helps produce CO and CH₄, while other catalysts mainly produce CO. The relationship between morphology and the exposed crystal planes has been studied through the catalysts' structural characterization. Different exposed crystal planes will affect the oxygen defect formation energy, and oxygen defects are more likely to occur on the surface of ReO_x/CeO₂-R. The results of XPS, Raman and H₂-TPR show that the morphological effects also exist in the interaction between Re and CeO_2.There is a metallic Re state in ReO_x/CeO₂-R, while an oxidized Re state mainly exists in other catalysts. According to the in-situ DRIFTS and TPSR characterization studies, the oxygen vacancies in ReO_x/CeO₂-R will promote the catalytic reaction by facilitating the conversion of the intermediate product carbonate to formate. However, ReO_x/CeO2-C and ReOx/CeO2-P will inhibit the catalytic reaction as the catalytic active sites are covered by carbonate accumulated on the catalytic surfaces. The research on the influence of differently morphological ReO_x/CeO₂ on catalytic CO₂ hydrogenation has provided a new theoretical basis for studying the morphological effects of CO₂ catalytic conversion.

Yang Bin, a postdoctoral researcher at HIAS, UCAS, is the first author of the paper, while Research Fellow Zhang Lingxia and Professor Guo Limin are the co-corresponding authors. The work received a large sum of funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Source | School of Chemistry and Materials Science

Editor | Liu Yuqi

Executive Editor | Wang Xia

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