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Research Article | Open Access

Valorization of carbon dioxide into C1 product via reverse water gas shift reaction using oxide-supported molybdenum carbides

Andrew N. Kuhn1,3, Rachel C. Park1, Siying Yu1, Di Gao1, Cheng Zhang1, Yuanhui Zhang2, Hong Yang1 ()
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1304 West Pennsylvania Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Present address: College of Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, 601 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
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Silica-supported nanometer-sized molybdenum carbide catalyst is applied to the valorization of carbon dioxide, achieving a high mass activity of 372 μmolCO2·gMo2C −1∙s−1 at 400 °C and 1109 μmolCO2·gMo2C −1·s−1 at 600 °C.

Abstract

Conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to C1 products such as carbon monoxide (CO) is a critical step towards carbon valorization. The conversion has been largely carried out through the reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction using noble metal catalysts or copper-based nanostructures. Similarities in the electronic structures between beta phase molybdenum carbides (β-Mo2C) and platinum-group metals make them promising alternatives to traditional catalysts. In this work, we studied the effect of oxide supports (MOx, M = Al, Ce, Mg, Si, and Ti) on the formation and catalytic properties of β-Mo2C nanoparticle catalysts. The β-Mo2C/SiO2 catalyst exhibited a mass activity of 372 μmolCO2∙gMo2C−1∙s−1 at 400 °C and 1109 μmolCO2∙gMo2C−1∙s−1 at 600 °C for the conversion of CO2. The β-Mo2C/SiO2 catalysts also maintained selectivity and showed structural stability in the on-stream study. The enhanced catalytic performance could be attributed to the size of nanocatalysts (4.7 nm), whereas the stability is related to the interaction with SiO2 and the low H2:CO2 feed ratio. This work highlights the application of amorphous silica in preparing metal carbide nanocatalysts. The rich defects and surface vacancies in the silica support greatly facilitate the high-rate and highly selective processes towards the valorization of CO2.

Keywords

molybdenum carbidereverse water gas shift reactioncarbon dioxide valorization

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Carbon Future
Volume 1 Issue 2,
June 2024
Article number: 9200011
DOI: 10.26599/CF.2024.9200011
Cite this article:
Kuhn AN, Park RC, Yu S, et al. Valorization of carbon dioxide into C1 product via reverse water gas shift reaction using oxide-supported molybdenum carbides. Carbon Future, 2024, 1(2): 9200011. https://doi.org/10.26599/CF.2024.9200011
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