One-Pot Synthesis of Cu–SO42−–ZrO2 Catalysts for Use as Acid Catalyst in Dimethyl Ether Production from CO2 Hydrogenation

• Published in: Topics in catalysis Vol. 66; no. 19-20; pp. 1467 - 1477
• Main Authors: Numpilai, Thanapha, Dolsiririttigul, Napaphut, Laobuthee, Apirat, Cheng, Chin Kui, Chanlek, Narong, Poo-arporn, Yingyot, Witoon, Thongthai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.11.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Catalysis; Catalysts; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemical synthesis; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Dimethyl ether; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Original Paper; Pharmacy; Physical Chemistry; Stability; Zirconium dioxide; Dimethyl ether; One-pot preparation; ZrO; CO; SO; hydrogenation; Acid catalysts
• ISSN: 1022-5528; 1572-9028
• DOI: 10.1007/s11244-023-01814-7

The present research investigates the possibility of enhancing the stability of SO 4 2− –ZrO 2 catalyst by adding Cu (2–12 wt%) prepared via a simple one-pot synthesis method. The substantial changes in the structures of Cu are observed which can be classified into two different ranges of Cu loading: 2–8 wt% and 10–12 wt%. Cu 2 O is predominant phase at Cu loading of 2–8 wt%, which strongly interacts with ZrO 2 , resulting in a decrease of number of acid sites and thus lowering DME yield compared to bare SO 4 2− –ZrO 2 . At Cu loading of 10–12 wt%, the predominant phase of Cu becomes CuSO 4 and the SO 4 2− from CuSO 4 may be formed as bridging S–O–S bonds with another S–O bonded to Zr atom , resulting in the catalytic stability improvement. The optimum Cu loading is 10 wt% which attains the maximum DME yield of 3.2% at 260 °C and 20 bar.