Bridging Mo2C–C and highly dispersed copper by incorporating N-functional groups to greatly enhance the catalytic activity and durability for carbon dioxide hydrogenation

Abstract

In this work, we report a facile and controllable method to enhance the catalytic activity and stability of Mo₂C–C for CO₂ hydrogenation by incorporating N-functional groups on the interface of Mo₂C–C to simultaneously serve as basic sites for improving CO₂ chemisorption and to immobilize copper particles to prevent aggregation. The incorporated N changed the surface chemical environment of Mo₂C and Cu, resulting in the coexistence of Cu²⁺/Cu⁺/Cu⁰ and electron transfer from the copper to the molybdenum species (via MoO_xC_y–□–Cu⁺/Cu⁰). The strong coupling effects of N, Mo₂C, and Cu on Cu–Mo₂C–N–C is beneficial for further enhancing the adsorption and activation of CO₂ and H₂ molecules. Accordingly, the Cu–Mo₂C–N–C catalysts exhibit greatly superior catalytic activity and stability toward CO₂ hydrogenation compared with other catalysts. This facile method may be extended to other materials-based interface engineering to fabricate efficient CO₂ hydrogenation catalysts.