Mechanistic Study of Carbon Dioxide Hydrogenation over Pd/ZnO-Based Catalysts: The Role of Palladium-Zinc Alloy in Selective Methanol Synthesis

Pd/ZnO catalysts show good activity and high selectivity to methanol during catalytic CO₂ hydrogenation. The Pd‐Zn alloy phase has usually been considered as the active phase, though mechanistic studies under operando conditions have not been conducted to verify this. Here, we report a mechanistic study under realistic conditions of methanol synthesis, using in situ and operando X‐ray absorption spectroscopy, X‐ray powder diffraction, and time‐resolved isotope labeling experiments coupled with FTIR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Pd‐Zn alloy‐based catalysts, prepared through reduction of a heterobimetallic Pd^IIZn^II acetate bridge complex, and which do not contain zinc oxide or any PdZn/ZnO interface, produce mostly CO. The Pd‐Zn phase is associated with the formation of CO, and does not provide the active sites required to produce methanol from the direct hydrogenation of carbon dioxide. The presence of a ZnO phase, in contact with a Pd‐Zn phase, is essential for efficient methanol production.

Palladium-Based Bimetallic Nanocrystal Catalysts for the Direct Synthesis of Hydrogen Peroxide

The direct synthesis of H2 O2 from H2 and O2 is a strongly desired reaction for green processes and a promising alternative to the commercialized anthraquinone process. The design of efficient catalysts with high activity and H2 O2 selectivity is highly desirable and yet challenging. Metal dopants enhance the performance of the active phase by increasing reaction rates, stability, and/or selectivity. The identification of efficient dopants relies mostly on catalysts prepared with a random and non-uniform deposition of active and promoter phases. To study the promotional effects of metal doping on Pd catalysts, we employ colloidal, bimetallic nanocrystals (NCs) to produce catalysts in which the active and doping metals are colocalized to a fine extent. In the absence of any acid and halide promotors, PdSn and PdGa NCs supported on acid-pretreated TiO2 (PdSn/s-TiO2 , PdGa/s-TiO2 ) were highly efficient and outperformed the monometallic Pd catalyst (Pd/s-TiO2 ), whereas in the presence of an acid promotor, the overall H2 O2 productivity was also further enhanced for the Ni-, Ga-, In-, and Sn-doped catalysts with respect to Pd/s-TiO2 .