Highly dispersed Cu-ZnOx regulated in zeolite for promoted performance in CO2 hydrogenation to methanol

CO2 conversions to methanol and subsequent chemicals are of great significance on facing the global climate crisis. High dispersions of active components are preferred, whereas it’s hard to realize using conventional methods. Herein, a novel strategy was adopted to encapsulate Cu-ZnOx species in zeolite frameworks to acquire high activity. Zeolite 13X regulated Cu-ZnOx catalysts (Cu-ZnOx/13X) with different Cu:Zn ratios are therefore developed and show considerable surface areas and pore volumes. The typical Cu-ZnOx/13X catalyst exhibits remarkable property stability even after 180 h of continuous reaction and performs dramatically within wide temperature and pressure ranges with high methanol selectivity. Further analyses of the mechanism suggest suitable microstructures of Cu-ZnOx/13X catalysts. The Cu activity is also promoted to achieve an approximately 27 % higher turnover frequency than the reported benchmark Cu–ZnO–Al2O3 catalyst. The present work provides a distinctive solution for catalyst construction, which we believe can give important insights into efficient CO2 utilization. [Display omitted] •Novel strategy was adopted to encapsulate Cu-ZnOx species in zeolite frameworks.•Cu-ZnOx/13X catalysts show high surface areas and metal dispersions.•Cu-ZnOx/13X catalysts perform stably with dramatical high methanol selectivity.•Zeolite promoted Cu-ZnOx/13X catalysts by improving gas diffusion and copper activity.