A stable, relatively cheap perovskite catalyst (Figure 1) opens up a novel route to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into useful substances such as methanol, other chemical base materials and synthetic fuels, claim its developers at the University of Vienna, Austria.
Researchers led by Christoph Rameshan at the Institute of Materials Chemistry of the university have focused on the reverse water-gas shift (rWGS) reaction that converts CO2 and hydrogen into water and carbon monoxide — with the latter capable of further processing.
“We tried out a few things and finally came up with a perovskite made of cobalt, iron, calcium and neodymium that has excellent properties,” he says.
The host lattice of the perovskite itself is active for the WGS and rWGS reactions. The key to the high activity achieved is doping it with cobalt, which is easily exsolved under rWGS conditions. Importantly for the rate of catalytic reaction, the nanoparticles formed by exsolution are finely dispersed across the surface and not prone to sintering.
“The advantages easily compensate for the slightly more complex synthesis route. To really quantify the benefits, we would need additional testing in a pilot plant, which we are currently preparing,” notes Rameshan.
