Understanding the geometric and basicity effects of organic polymer modifiers on Ru/TiO2 catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation to hydrocarbons

Abstract

Modifying inorganic catalysts with basic organic moieties effectively enhances their CO₂ hydrogenation activity through CO₂ activation, but the effect on C–C coupling rates and selectivity is not as straightforward. In this contribution, we report the encapsulation of Ru/TiO₂ catalysts with uniform, conformal, nitrogen-containing polymer overlayers with controllable basicity and morphology. We demonstrate that while basic moieties greatly promote CO₂ conversion, it is the morphology of the overlayer that has a significant role in C–C coupling and the production of higher hydrocarbons.