Highly Efficient Sunlight-Driven CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol Over NiZn Intermetallic Catalysts Under Atmospheric Pressure

Abstract

The synthesis of solar methanol through direct carbon dioxide (CO2) hydrogenation using solar energy is of great importance in advancing a sustainable energy economy. In this study, a non-precious NiZn intermetallic/ZnO catalyst (NxZy) is reported to catalyze the hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol using sunlight irradiation (≤ 1 sun). The NiZn/ZnO interface is identified as the active site to stabilize the key intermediates of HxCO*. At ambient pressure, the N1Z2 catalyst demonstrates a methanol production rate of 127.5 μmol g−1 h−1 from solar-driven CO2 hydrogenation, with a remarkable 100% selectivity toward methanol in the total organic products. Notably, this production rate stands as the highest record for photothermic CO2 hydrogenation to methanol in continuous-flow reactors with sunlight as the only requisite energy input. This discovery not only paves the way for the development of novel catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol but also marks a significant stride toward full solar-driven chemical energy storage.