A benign and scalable reverse water–gas shift reaction in EMIM acetate with Ru-PNP catalysts

Abstract

The combination of the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate, [EMIM]OAc, and Ru-MACHO-BH catalyst facilitates efficient and scalable reverse water–gas shift (RWGS) of CO₂/H₂ mixtures under mild conditions. Optimized conditions of 150 °C and 10 : 10 bar CO₂: H₂ achieve the highest reaction selectivity towards CO (31%) whereas 5 : 20 bar CO₂: H₂ attains higher CO yield (26%) but also significantly promotes formic acid formation, highlighting the potential of ionic liquid/Ru-MACHO-BH as an effective and versatile hybrid system for CO₂ valorisation.