Bimetallic Fe-Cu catalysts supported on Ceria for CO2 valorization by reverse water gas shift reaction

The reverse water-gas shift (rWGS) reaction represents a direct route and a promising approach for CO2 conversion, in order to mitigate CO2 emissions by producing value-added chemicals using carbon dioxide as a carbon pool. The generated CO, combined with hydrogen, acts as a feedstock to valuable fuels such as methanol and dimethyl ether (DME). The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of novel bimetallic Fe-Cu catalysts supported on ceria towards rWGS. In fact, despite the long commercial application of WGS, there is a need for novel catalysts characterized by higher intrinsic activity (especially at relatively low temperatures), good thermal stability, and high conversion and selectivity rates. In this work, bimetallic Fe-Cu catalysts supported on ceria, characterized by a very low active phase content (Fe2O3+CuO < 5 wt.%), were prepared, characterized, and tested. Additionally, bare Fe2O3/ceria and CuO/ceria and commercial Clariant ShiftMax® 120 HCF catalysts were tested for comparison. Fresh and used samples were characterized by ICP-MS, XRD, N2 physisorption, SEM-EDS, to relate physico-chemical features and catalytic activity.