Carbon dioxide hydrogenation to aromatic hydrocarbons by using an iron/iron oxide nanocatalyst

The quest for renewable and cleaner energy sources to meet the rapid population and economic growth is more urgent than ever before. Being the most abundant carbon source in the atmosphere of Earth, CO(2) can be used as an inexpensive C1 building block in the synthesis of aromatic fuels for internal combustion engines. We designed a process capable of synthesizing benzene, toluene, xylenes and mesitylene from CO(2) and H(2) at modest temperatures (T = 380 to 540 °C) employing Fe/Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles as catalyst. The synthesis of the catalyst and the mechanism of CO(2)-hydrogenation will be discussed, as well as further applications of Fe/Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles in catalysis.