Highly selective conversion of CO(2) to methanol on the CuZnO–ZrO(2) solid solution with the assistance of plasma

CuZnO–ZrO(2)–C was prepared by a co-precipitation method. For comparison, CuZnO–ZrO(2)–PC and CuZnO–ZrO(2)–CP were prepared by glow discharge plasma. The catalysts were characterized via the XRD, N(2) adsorption–desorption, TEM, SEM, EDS, XPS, CO(2)-TPD and H(2)-TPR techniques. The catalysts were comparatively investigated for CO(2) conversion and methanol selectivity in a fixed-bed reactor under the condition of 2 MPa, 250 °C, H(2)/CO(2) = 3/1 and GHSV = 12 000 mL g(−1) h(−1). The results showed that the activities of the catalysts increased in the order of CuZnO–ZrO(2)–PC > CuZnO–ZrO(2)–CP > CuZnO–ZrO(2)–C. Moreover, the CO(2) conversion of CuZnO–ZrO(2)–C increased by 38.9% via treatment with glow discharge plasma. The results are well explained based on the CO(2)-TPD and H(2)-TPR characterizations of the catalysts.