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Recent advances in CO2 hydrogenation to higher alcohols

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CO2 hydrogenation to higher alcohols (C2+OH) is an effective way to realize carbon recycling, which can not only reduce the CO2 amounts in atmosphere and mitigate the greenhouse effect, but also provides a new route to synthesize important chemicals. However, this process is a challenge because the inert CO2 molecule is difficult to be activated and undergo C–C coupling. The key to achieve selective conversion of CO2 to C2+OH is to design high-performance catalytic systems and unravel the reaction mechanism. In this review, we report several typical CO2 hydrogenation-to-C2+OH catalyst materials, including noble-metal catalysts, Cu-based catalysts, Co-based catalysts and Mo-based catalysts, and evaluate the effects of various promoters on the catalytic performance and reaction mechanism. It will provide not only fundamental insights into the CO2 hydrogenation-to-C2+OH reaction mechanism, but also guidance for the development of related high-performance catalysts.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the financial supports of the National Key R&D Program of China (2023YFB4103700), National Natural Science Foundation of China (21991090; 21991092; 22272195; 22322208; U1910203; U22A20431), the Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province of China (202203021224009), Innovation foundation of Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SCJC-DT-2023-06) and Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (2021172).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Taiyuan, 030001, China

    Qian Zhang, Sen Wang, Mei Dong, Jianguo Wang & Weibin Fan

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Qian Zhang & Jianguo Wang

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  1. Qian Zhang
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  2. Sen Wang
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  3. Mei Dong
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Correspondence to Sen Wang or Weibin Fan.

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Published in virtual special issue “Carbon Neutrality”

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Zhang, Q., Wang, S., Dong, M. et al. Recent advances in CO2 hydrogenation to higher alcohols. Sci. China Chem. 68, 2310–2321 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-024-2254-x

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