Insights into the role of surface oxygen vacancy in CuCeO2 catalyst for reverse water gas shift

This study presents the synthesis, characterization, and performance evaluation of copper-doped ceria (Cu/CeO2) catalysts with varying Cu/(Cu + Ce) atomic percentages in the context of the reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction. Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations revealed that higher Cu loadings promote stronger CO2 adsorption due to enhanced formation of OVs through Cu doping. Catalysts exhibited 100 % selectivity toward CO in the 450–600 °C range indicating the Cu doped CeO2 is a promising candidate for RWGS. Higher Cu loadings were found to enhance CO2 conversion, particularly at 600 °C. Insights gained from this work revealed that lowering OV formation energy and enhancing CO2 activation are key to improving RWGS activity in the presence of doped ceria (Cu/CeO2) catalysts.