Carbon Stabilised Saponite Supported Transition Metal-Alloy Catalysts for Chemical CO2 Utilisation via Reverse Water-Gas Shift Reaction

Chemical CO₂ upgrading via reverse water gas shift (RWGS) represents an interesting route for gas phase CO₂ conversion. Herein, nature inspired clay-based catalysts are used to design highly effective materials, which could make this route viable for practical applications. Ni and transition metal promoted Ni saponite clays has been developed as highly effective catalysts for the RWGS. Saponite supported NiCu catalyst displayed a remarkable preference for the formation of CO over CH₄ across the entire temperature range compared to the saponite supported NiCo and Ni catalysts. The NiCu sample is also highly stable maintaining ∼ 55% CO₂ conversion and ∼ 80 % selectivity for CO for long terms runs. Very importantly, when compared with reference catalysts our materials display significantly higher levels of CO₂ conversion and CO selectivity. This confirmed the suitability of these catalysts to upgrade CO₂-rich streams under continuous operation conditions.