Combustion synthesis of CuO–ZnO–ZrO2 catalysts for the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to methanol

Various CuO–ZnO–ZrO2 (CZZ) catalysts have been synthesized by urea–nitrate combustion method and their performances for methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation have been investigated. The effects of urea/nitrate ratio on physicochemical and catalytic properties were studied by XRD, BET, H2-TPR and reactive N2O adsorption techniques. The results show that when 50% of stoichiometric amount of urea was used, the CZZ catalyst exhibited an optimum catalytic behavior. The combustion method was found to be a simple, fast and valuable route for the preparation of CZZ catalyst for methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation.