Catalytic Performance of Highly Dispersed Bimetallic Catalysts for CO Hydrogenation to DME

Abstract

Highly dispersed bimetallic atomic-scale catalysts have garnered significant attention in syngas conversion filed due to the synergistic effects of the precisely structured bimetallic site, which facilitate the effective activation of CO. Despite their potential, synthesizing these catalysts to meet the specific application requirements remains challenging. Herein, various bimetallic catalysts were synthesized through the pyrolysis of the bimetallic ZIF precursors which were prepared by in situ doping of different metals (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni and Cu) into the ZIF-8 structure. In the presence of a highly dispersed and highly loaded Zn, the doping content in the ultimate second metallic catalysts varied between 0.15–1.20 wt % for different metals. The catalysts were systematically characterized using XRD, BET, TEM, XPS, Raman, ICP, and H₂-TPD techniques. Among them, the Zn−NC regulated with Cu or Ni exhibited superior catalytic performance. Notably, the Cu−Zn−NC catalyst showed the highest activity, achieving a CO conversion of 32.8 % and optimal DME selectivity approaching 95.2 % in CO hydrogenation reactions. These enhanced performance metrics were attributed to the synergetic effects of bimetallic components. The incorporation of Cu not only preserved the original Zn−N structure but also preserved the catalytic performance unchanged. This preparation strategy is expected to filter out new research targets to use in diverse catalytic applications.