Titanate‐Anchored Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ Catalyst for Low‐Temperature CO₂ Hydrogenation to Methanol

CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol as a value‐added chemical or low‐carbon fuel is a promising and practical process to utilize CO 2 emission and reduce carbon footprint. However, the reaction's energy‐intensive demands at high temperature and pressure are hindering its economic feasibility and commercialization. To lower the energy consumption of the process, a new type of titanate‐anchored Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 (CZA) catalyst is reported for efficient and robust CO 2 conversion to methanol at low temperature (200 °C–220 °C) and low pressure (1–10 bar). Distinct from the pellet‐structured commercial CZA catalyst and the previously reported nanoarray‐dispersed CZA catalyst, the titanate nanorod forest serves as a unique support to trap and anchor co‐precipitated CZA nanoparticles and slow down their thermal sintering. Meanwhile, Cu 2+ and Cu + species populate with increased amounts due to a strong interaction between the CZA and titanate forest, resulting in increased CO 2 and H 2 absorption and methanol production. As a result, an improved methanol production rate is achieved over the titanate‐anchored CZA catalyst, with a high methanol yield of 6 mol.kg −1 .h −1 under 220 °C and 10 bar conditions. The active catalyst loading, dip coating solvent, annealing temperature and time, and pressure are found to effectively tailor the methanol production performance based on the titanate forest configuration.