The function of hydrotalcite as a support material in the alcohol-assisted catalytic CO₂ hydrogenation reaction

The traditional CO2 hydrogenation reaction in gas phase always requires harsh reaction conditions to activate CO2 , resulting in huge energy consumption. However, with the assistance of 1-butanol solvent, catalytic CO2 hydrogenation can be proceeded at a mild condition of 170 °C and 30 bars. To further improve the catalytic performance of the widely studied Cu-ZnO-ZrO2 catalyst (CZZ), the catalysts were modified by incorporating hydrotalcite (HTC) as a support material. The addition of HTC significantly improved the copper dispersion and surface area of the catalyst. The performance of CZZ-HTC catalysts was investigated at varying weight percentages of HTC, and all showed higher space-time yield of methanol (STYMeOH ) compared to the commercial catalyst. Notably, CZZ-6HTC exhibited the highest methanol selectivity, further highlighting the beneficial role of HTC as a support material.