Nanometric Cu-ZnO Particles Supported on N-Doped Graphitic Carbon as Catalysts for the Selective CO Hydrogenation to Methanol.

The quest for efficient catalysts based on abundant elements that can promote the selective CO hydrogenation to green methanol still continues. Most of the reported catalysts are based on Cu/ZnO supported in inorganic oxides, with not much progress with respect to the benchmark Cu/ZnO/AlO catalyst. The use of carbon supports for Cu/ZnO particles is much less explored in spite of the favorable strong metal support interaction that these doped carbons can establish. This manuscript reports the preparation of a series of Cu-ZnO@(N)C samples consisting of Cu/ZnO particles embedded within a N-doped graphitic carbon with a wide range of Cu/Zn atomic ratio. The preparation procedure relies on the transformation of chitosan, a biomass waste, into N-doped graphitic carbon by pyrolysis, which establishes a strong interaction with Cu nanoparticles (NPs) formed simultaneously by Cu salt reduction during the graphitization. Zn ions are subsequently added to the Cu-graphene material by impregnation. All the Cu/ZnO@(N)C samples promote methanol formation in the CO hydrogenation at temperatures from 200 to 300 °C, with the temperature increasing CO conversion and decreasing methanol selectivity. The best performing Cu-ZnO@(N)C sample achieves at 300 °C a CO conversion of 23% and a methanol selectivity of 21% that is among the highest reported, particularly for a carbon-based support. DFT calculations indicate the role of pyridinic N doping atoms stabilizing the Cu/ZnO NPs and supporting the formate pathway as the most likely reaction mechanism.