An international research team led by Bert Weckhuysen (Utrecht University) and Sara Bals (University of Antwerp) showed that a promising catalyst for the purification of CO ₂ becomes significantly more active and selective if its preconditioning is modified. Scientists have visualized the mechanism underlying this concept with unparalleled precision. The results of the study are published in Science May 11. The first authors are Matteo Monai, Kellie Jenkinson and Angela Melcherts. Cleaning carbon dioxide or turning it into something useful is increasingly common, for example in the energy and transport sectors, where huge amounts of greenhouse gases are released. In order for such a cleaning process to take place correctly and quickly, catalysts are needed. In the case of CO2 hydrogenation _, which is a widely used chemical reaction to purify CO2 _, a catalyst based on titanium dioxide on a nickel support is used. In this study, the researchers show that the performance of the catalyst is highly dependent on the temperature at which it is prepared. The selectivity and activity of the catalyst were much better during CO2 hydrogenation _at at a pretreatment temperature of 600 °C than at 400 °C. Better selectivity is desirable because the catalyst provides fewer undesired by-products. The improved activity results in a faster progression of the catalytic reaction. The researchers expect the same principle to apply to catalysts with other metal oxides such as titanium oxide.

(From Utrecht University)