Fabrication of a CuZn-based catalyst using a polyethylene glycol surfactant and supercritical drying

Abstract

CuZn-Based catalysts have been applied in industrial methanol synthesis. However, in alcohol-assisted low-temperature methanol synthesis (LT-MS), preparation of highly efficient CuZn-based catalysts is still a considerable challenge. Here, we report two optimized strategies that use a polyethylene glycol (PEG) surfactant and supercritical CO₂ drying with the urea co-precipitation method to synthesize the highly efficient CuZn-based catalysts. The PEG treatment is utilized to enhance porosity and improve surface functional groups of the CuZn-based catalysts, and the supercritical CO₂ drying is employed to increase their reduction degree. The catalytic results of alcohol-assisted LT-MS reveal that via the two optimized strategies, a CuZn–SC-P5 catalyst exhibits superior catalytic performance. It is significantly different from the CuZn-based catalysts prepared by traditional impregnation methods, and also better than the catalysts treated by sole PEG treatment or supercritical CO₂ drying. The present work provides multiple strategies to improve catalytic efficiency, and will be beneficial to explore new approaches in catalyst synthesis.