Synergistic effect of surface hydroxyl anchoring and electronic metal-support interaction in Cu-ZnO-SrTiO3 catalysts for enhanced CO2 hydrogenation

• The charge mediated anchoring mechanism at oxygen vacancies anchors Cu 2+ and Zn 2+ via electron transfer. • Oxygen vacancies induce highly dispersed small Cu with Cu 0 step-edge sites. and small ZnO particles. • Coordination-unsaturated Cu 0 step-edge sites serve as structural descriptors for the d-band center. • Upshifted d-band center enhances H 2 adsorption, boosting catalytic activity for methanol synthesis. • Low-crystallinity SrTiO₃ with rich oxygen vacancies offers a pathway to tune the d-band center of Cu. Dianhua Liu. Institution and address: East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200,237, China.