Cobalt Nanoparticles Confined in Defective Carbon Matrices for Robust Intermittent CO <sub>2</sub> Methanation
Abstract
ABSTRACT The development of robust catalysts for CO 2 methanation under intermittent operating conditions is key to harnessing renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. However, this pursuit faces two major obstacles. The heating‐cooling cycles induce prolonged thermal stress, resulting in catalyst deactivation. Moreover, the temperature‐sensitive selectivity hampers the ability to maintain high methane yield, leading to undesired by‐products. Herein, we report cobalt nanoparticles confined within carbon matrices, which achieved 82.3% CO 2 conversion and > 99% CH 4 selectivity over multiple heating‐cooling cycles toward intermittent CO 2 methanation. The catalyst robustness arises from the low coefficient of thermal expansion and high thermal conductivity of the carbon matrix, which effectively mitigates thermal stress during temperature fluctuations. Mechanistic studies confirm that the reaction proceeds via a formate pathway, which contributes to the high CH 4 selectivity across a wide temperature range. These insights provide a design framework for developing robust catalysts, advancing CO 2 methanation performance, and the efficient use of fluctuating renewable energy sources.
Article Details
Authors (15)
Jingzhong Qin
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing Jiangsu China
Shuaishuai Yin
Department of Chemical Physics Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale University of Science and Technology of China Hefei Anhui People's Republic of China
Caizhi Yu
School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Anhui University of Technology Ma'anshan Anhui People's Republic of China
Yuhang Tao
The Education Ministry Key Lab of Resource Chemistry Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Biomimetic Catalysis College of Chemistry and Materials Science Shanghai Normal University Shanghai China
Jiayu Mu
School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Anhui University of Technology Ma'anshan Anhui People's Republic of China
Menglin Wang
Jiahua Luo
Department of Chemical Physics Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale University of Science and Technology of China Hefei Anhui People's Republic of China
Lei Zhang
Yuhan Zhou
Department of Chemistry
Ziyi Yan
Department of Chemical Physics Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale University of Science and Technology of China Hefei Anhui People's Republic of China
Lijun Zhang
Key Laboratory of Functionalized Molecular Solids of Ministry of Education, Anhui Laboratory of Molecule-Based Materials, College of Chemistry and Materials Science
Yunqian Dai
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Southeast University Nanjing Jiangsu China
Wenlong Wu
School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering
Hongliang Li
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale
Jie Zeng
School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering