This research explores PdCu-based bimetallic catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation to higher alcohols, aiming to enhance C-C coupling and ethanol selectivity. It focuses on understanding the active phase and the relationship between catalyst structure, reaction conditions, and overall performance.
Co2 hydrogenation to higher alcohols is a promising route for waste stream valorization to chemical building blocks. While Cu-based catalysts such as Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 are used for MeOH production, the transformation of CO2 into HAs is challenging because Cu itself has limited C-C coupling ability. Bimetallic or bifunctional catalysts are thus needed to achieve high selectivity and yield towards HAs. For example, using PdCu-based catalysts, C-C coupling was enchanced to yield high ethanol selectivity. However, the space time yield in HA synthesis are much lower than those achieved for methanol synthesis, and catalyts tend to deactivate due to the presence of H2O and phase transformations. To overcome this issues, we need to better understand the nature of active phase and mechasnisms of HAs formation.