Support‐induced structural changes in CO₂ hydrogenation to higher alcohols over metal/oxide catalysts

Abstract

CO2 emissions have received a great deal of attention in recent years. The hydrogenation of CO2 to higher alcohols (HA) by heterogeneous catalysis is a promising artificial carbon cycle pathway, which has important significance for mitigating energy and environmental problems. Among the heterogeneous catalysts, supported catalysts exhibit unique catalytic activity due to their abundance of surface‐tunable active sites such as oxygen vacancies, surface acidic/basic sites, and active hydroxyl groups. Given the complexity in the CO2 hydrogenation reaction networks, however, it is very challenging to reveal the nature and role of unique interfaces/sites induced by oxide support. Herein, we review the progress of several common oxide supports in the CO2 hydrogenation to HA over the last decades, and illustrate the regulatory mechanisms of the oxide‐induced synergy on the activation of intermediates and the C‐C coupling reactions. Based on this, we also discuss the present challenges associated with the HA synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation, as well as the thinking oriented on oxide support‐induced structure changes to improve the selectivity and productivity of HA.