Chemical state of elements at the interface of Inverse ZrOxYy/Ni catalysts and their role in the CO2 hydrogenation to methane

Inverse interfaces composed of highly dispersed metal oxide domains decorating the metal particle have received great interest, promoting the stabilization of chemically and electronically new active sites with markedly high reactivity. In this direction, our group synthesized a series of ZrOxYy/Ni inverse catalysts with 13wt% ZrOxYy loading, showing outstanding activity in the CO2 methanation reaction at low temperatures, i.e. 200-260 C, outperforming the catalytic behavior of conventional catalysts. The possibility to operate at low temperatures (< 260 C) with high methane production and high CO2 conversion using nickel-based catalysts is of great industrial relevance with a strong economic impact. The main goal of the work is to try to find out the different nature of active sites stabilized on inverse catalysts, which makes them completely different from conventional catalysts. The fact that the active sites are stabilized on the upper surface layers of the catalyst, where the metal oxide covers the metal particle, makes APXPS studies a key tool enabling understanding of the chemical state of the elements at working conditions, which is impossible to deliver from other spectroscopies. This project will offer the possibility to introduce a new class of highly efficient catalysts to tune the catalytic properties of nickel catalysts in the CO2 hydrogenation reaction and expand its application to other highly demanded reactions.