Synthesis of defect-rich LaOCO supports for enhanced CO-to-methanol conversion efficiency.

Converting CO 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 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) hinders CO activation. Herein, we present a strategy by doping Nd into a LaOCO (LOC) support, enhancing O formation by disrupting its lattice dyadicity. This leads to higher Cu concentration and improved CO 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 conversion.