Mitigating the Poisoning Effect of Formate during CO Hydrogenation to Methanol over Co-Containing Dual-Atom Oxide Catalysts.

During the hydrogenation of CO to methanol over mixed-oxide catalysts, the strong adsorption of CO and formate poses a barrier for H dissociation, limiting methanol selectivity and productivity. Here we show that by using Co-containing dual-atom oxide catalysts, the poisoning effect can be countered by separating the site for H dissociation and the adsorption of intermediates. We synthesized a Co- and In-doped ZrO catalyst (Co-In-ZrO) containing atomically dispersed Co and In species.