In
this work, compared with non-Cu2In nanoalloy counterpart
Cu-In/ZrO2 catalysts, a Cu1In2Zr4-O catalyst with the structure of Cu2In alloy exhibited
an excellent performance for CO2 hydrogenation to CH3OH. CO2 conversion (12.8%) and methanol selectivity
(72.8%) were outstandingly higher, which indicated that the synergetic
effect existed between Cu and In over the Cu1In2Zr4-O catalyst. The formation of Cu2In alloy
caused high dispersion of the active species and high surface area
of the Cu1In2Zr4-O catalyst, enhancing
catalyst reduction performance. Strong adsorption of CO2 caused a good conversion property of the Cu1In2Zr4-O catalyst. The strong interaction between the In
and Cu species formed a nanoalloy and decreased the catalyst reduction
temperature, which led to the high catalytic performance for CO2 hydrogenation. The Cu2In alloy rather than metallic
Cu was the key active site for the methanol formation.