Cu–Al Spinel as a Highly Active and Stable Catalyst for the Reverse Water Gas Shift Reaction

The reverse water gas shift reaction is considered to be a highly attractive catalytic route for CO2 recycling in a future sustainable economy. Copper-based catalysts are commonly used for this reaction due to their high activity and selectivity. However, their low thermal stability is problematic for long-term usage. Here, we introduce an in situ formed surface Cu–Al spinel as a highly active and stable catalyst for the reverse water gas shift reaction. Even at high weight hourly space velocities (300 000 mL g–1 h–1), we observed no detectable deactivation after 40 h of operation. Through in situ DRIFTS and DFT studies, it was found that 2-fold coordinated copper ions and 3-fold coordinated surface oxygen atoms constitute the active sites for this reaction.