Methane Production over Electrospun Cobalt-Lanthanide Oxide Catalysts

The hydrogenation of CO2 is an important reaction aimed at, among other chemicals, synthetic methane production. Herein, we report the preparation and characterization of affordable cobalt-lanthanide bimetallic oxide nanofibers and cobalt-supported catalysts, using lanthanide oxide nanofibers as supports and their catalytic behavior for the methanation of CO2. The best results were those obtained over the cobalt-supported catalysts using cerium and ytterbium oxide nanofibers as supports. These catalysts stand out with an activity per cobalt square meter far superior to that measured over a noble metal commercial catalyst tested under the same conditions and used as a reference. The catalysts' reducibility and acid-base properties suggest the existence of a synergism between cobalt and lanthanide species, especially the cerium and ytterbium ones, which may explain their enhanced catalytic behavior. Stability tests also show that both types of catalysts are highly stable until 350 degrees C (kinetic regime), which is also a major advantage since they could be a real alternative aiming at synthetic methane production via CO2 hydrogenation at low temperatures. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first times that cobalt-based catalysts were tested as fibers for such a purpose.