Temperature switching of product selectivity in CO2 reduction on Cu/ In2O3 catalysts

As the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is still increasing, converting it to value-added products is a promising method for its limitation with added positive economic impact. In addition to copper-based catalysts, which can produce various products, indium oxide has been recently reported as another suitable candidate for the hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol. In this study, indium oxide was used as a base material decorated with copper nanoparticles, with the goal of exploiting a potential synergetic effect of these two active components on performance. The prepared catalysts manifested a strong dependence in their selectivity towards the formation of the second main reaction product next to the overall dominant CO on the reaction temperature, namely a switch between the production of methanol at lower temperatures and of methane at higher temperatures.