Polyoxometalate-HKUST-1 composite derived nanostructured Na-Cu-Mo2C catalyst for efficient reverse water gas shift reaction.

Abstract

Transforming CO2 to CO via reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reaction is widely regarded as a promising technique for improving the efficiency and economics of CO2 utilization processes. Moreover, it is also considered as a pathway towards e-fuels. Cu-oxide catalysts are widely explored for low-temperature RWGS reactions; nevertheless, they tend to deactivate significantly under applied reaction conditions due to the agglomeration of copper particles at elevated temperatures. Herein, we have synthesized homogeneously distributed Cu metallic nanoparticles supported on Mo2C for the RWGS reaction by a unique approach of in situ carburization of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) using a Cu-based MOF i.e. HKUST-1 encapsulating molybdenum-based polyoxometalates. The newly derived Na-Cu-Mo2C nanocomposite catalyst system exhibits excellent catalytic performance with a CO production rate of 3230.0 mmol gcat-1 h-1 with 100% CO selectivity. Even after 250 h of a stability test, the catalyst remained active with more than 80% of its initial activity.