The role of promoters in the catalytic performance of Pt supported on TiO2 in the RWGS (reverse water gas shift reaction)

• Grant number: 22/11962-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2022
• End date: July 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Inorganic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Daniela Zanchet
• Grantee: Natalia Andrade Oliveira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Company: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Politécnica (EP)
• Associated research grant: 20/15230-5 - Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Innovation - RCG2I, AP.PCPE

Abstract

One of the main challenges today is to decrease the rate of global warming and as a consequence, the reduction of CO2 emissions is crucial. One of the most promissing alternatives is the catalytic transformation of CO2 into products of interest, such as syngas (mixture of CO and H2O), using green hydrogen produced from renewable sources. The objective of this project is to evaluate the performance of supported Pt/TiO2 catalysts in the reverse water gas shift reaction (RWGS) with special emphasis on the dispersion of the metallic phase and the use of alkali metals as promoters, which favors the adsorption and activation of CO2. The RWGS reaction is important in the context of CO2 conversion into methanol, being an intermediate step of the reaction mechanism. The catalysts will be tested in a batch reactor since high pressures are required for this process. Catalysts will be produced with 1%wt Pt and variable loadings of promoters such as K, Na and Cs (promoter/Pt ratio between 0.1-5.0). As the main techniques, programmed temperature desorption (TPD) of CO2 will be used, to evaluate the modification of the interaction of CO2 with the catalysts due to the presence of promoters, and X-ray diffraction (XRD), to verify whether their presence impacts on the metallic dispersion. The correlation of the catalytic data with the impact of the addition of the promoters will allow the identification of the most promising systems and proposals for the optimization of the catalysts.