Abstract
Catalytic COx (CO and CO2)
hydrogenation to valued chemicals is one of the promising approaches to
address challenges in energy, environment, and climate change. H2O is an inevitable side product in these reactions, where its existence and effect are often ignored. In fact, H2O
significantly influences the catalytic active centers, reaction
mechanism, and catalytic performance, preventing us from a definitive
and deep understanding on the structure-performance relationship of the
authentic catalysts. It is necessary, although challenging, to clarify
its effect and provide practical strategies to tune the concentration
and distribution of H2O to optimize its influence. In this review, we focus on how H2O in COx
hydrogenation induces the structural evolution of catalysts and assists
in the catalytic processes, as well as efforts to understand the
underlying mechanism. We summarize and discuss some representative
tuning strategies for realizing the rapid removal or local enrichment of
H2O around the catalysts, along with brief techno-economic
analysis and life cycle assessment. These fundamental understandings and
strategies are further extended to the reactions of CO and CO2
reduction under an external field (light, electricity, and plasma). We
also present suggestions and prospects for deciphering and controlling
the effect of H2O in practical applications.
M. Wang, G. Zhang, H. Wang, Z. Wang, Y. Zhou, X. Nie, B.H. Yin, C. Song, X. Guo, Understanding and tuning the effects of h2o on catalytic co and co2 hydrogenation, Chemical Reviews, 2024. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.4c00282.
