Synthesis of defect-rich La2O2CO3 supports for enhanced CO2-to-methanol conversion efficiency | Science Advances

Converting CO ₂ to methanol is crucial for addressing fuel scarcity and mitigating the greenhouse effect. Cu-based catalysts, with their diverse surface states, offer the potential to control reaction pathways and generate reactive H* species. However, a major challenge lies in oxidizing active Cu ⁰ species by water generated during the catalytic process. While nonreducible metal oxides are beneficial in stabilizing metallic states, their limited capability to generate surface oxygen vacancies (O _V ) hinders CO ₂ activation. Herein, we present a strategy by doping Nd into a La ₂ O ₂ CO ₃ (LOC) support, enhancing O _V formation by disrupting its lattice dyadicity. This leads to higher Cu ⁰ concentration and improved CO ₂ activation. The resulting Cu/LOC:Nd catalyst notably outperforms Cu/LOC and CuZnAl catalysts, achieving a methanol yield of 9.9 moles of methanol per hour per mole of Cu. Our approach opens up possibilities for enhancing Cu-based catalysts in CO ₂ conversion.