High efficient CuCeO2‐δ/SiO2 catalyst for RWGS reaction: impact of Ce content and loading sequence

Abstract The extensive use of fossil energy leads to wanton emission of CO 2 and serious environmental problems. The exploration of high‐performance catalysts plays a pivotal role in CO 2 resource utilization. In this paper, CuCe y K catalysts are prepared by wet impregnation method using ordered mesoporous SiO 2 as support for the reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction. The physicochemical properties of the prepared catalysts are characterized by H 2 ‐TPR, BET, XRD, Quasi in‐situ XPS, H 2 ‐TPD, and CO 2 ‐TPD techniques. The results demonstrate thatthe Cu 0 species can form synergistic effects with oxygen vacancies (O v ) to enhance the CuCe y K catalytic performance. Additionally, the electronic effects between Ce and Cu not only enhances the adsorption and activation performances of the catalyst towards CO 2 and H 2 molecules, but also effectively suppresses the sintering of Cu 0 species, thereby enhancing the stability of the corresponding catalyst. It is worth mentioning that the Ce content also directly affects the catalytic performances of the CuCe y K catalyst. The CuCe 15 K catalyst with a Ce content of 15% displays excellent CO 2 hydrogenation performances, and the CO 2 conversion and CO selectivity up to 41 % and 100 % at 420 °C, respectively. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.