Metal–Oxide Promotion Effects in Inverse Cobalt Catalysts for Selective CO₂ Methanation

Haruto Sato; Yui Nakamura

Abstract

Inverse cobalt catalysts provide unique metal–oxide boundary sites for CO2 methanation, but the role of oxide promotion remains unclear. Herein, ZrOx-, CeOx-, and TiOx-decorated Co catalysts were synthesized and tested for CO2 methanation at 220–360°C and atmospheric pressure. The ZrOx-modified Co catalyst showed the highest CH4 formation rate of 7.8 mmol gcat⁻¹ h⁻¹ at 300°C, with CO2 conversion of 61.4% and CH4 selectivity of 96.2%. In situ DRIFTS revealed that ZrOx promoted the formation and hydrogenation of bicarbonate and formate intermediates, while CeOx enhanced oxygen storage but favored CO formation at higher temperatures. H2 chemisorption and XPS results showed that oxide decoration modified the electron density of surface Co and improved the resistance to oxidation. The study demonstrates that inverse oxide modification can regulate both CO2 activation and hydrogenation pathways in cobalt-based methanation catalysts.

Keywords

CO2 methanationinverse cobalt catalystoxide promotermethane selectivitymetal–oxide interfaceformate intermediate

References

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Publication details

Journal: Interdisciplinary Intelligence and Emerging Technologies
Volume: 1 (2026)
Article number: ajg20260002
License: CC BY 4.0

[1] Chen, F., Liang, H., Li, S., Yue, L., & Xu, P. (2025). Design of Domestic Chip Scheduling Architecture for Smart Grid Based on Edge Collaboration.

[2] Kwak, M., Park, G. H., Ha, J., Choi, S., Kim, S., Heo, J., ... & Kim, W. B. (2026). Phase-reconstructed exsolution strategy of metal catalysts on Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites to drive highly rapid polysulfide conversion in lithium-sulfur batteries. Journal of Energy Chemistry.

[3] Yang, Z., Alexandrova, A. N., & Sautet, P. (2026). Modeling CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol on an Ensemble of Inverse ZrO2 on Cu Catalytic Sites: Mechanism, Reactivity, and Deactivation. Angewandte Chemie, e5448247.

[4] Kiss, J., Szenti, I., Efremova, A., Kovács, I., Deér, A., Sápi, A., & Kónya, Z. (2026). Surface Intermediates in Important Catalytic Reactions: Formation, Identification and Reactivity Across Metals, Nanoparticles and Supported Catalysts. Catalysts, 16(5), 404.

[5] Liang, R., Feifan, F. N. U., Liang, Y., & Ye, Z. (2025). Emotion-Aware Interface Adaptation in Mobile Applications Based on Color Psychology and Multimodal User State Recognition. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence Research, 2(1), 51-57.

[6] Stamatelos, I., Guo, Z., Pasel, J., & Saei, W. (2026). Oxide-derived metals and alloys: from dynamic reconstruction to function across electrocatalytic reactions. Energy Advances.

[7] Liang, S., Zhang, X., Du, Y., & Chen, W. (2026). Supply Network Restructuring and Capacity Ramp-Up Limits in the Localized Expansion of High-Performance Computing Equipment Production. Available at SSRN 7339738.

[8] Bao, Y., & Wang, H. (2026). Edge-to-Cloud Infrastructure Continuum: A Unified Framework for Optimizing Industrial IoT Systems. Available at SSRN 7185578.

[9] Nasim, F., & Nadeem, M. A. (2025). Decoding d‐Band Effects: Impact of Diverse Environments on Cobalt's Catalytic Performance in Oxygen Reduction Reaction. ChemCatChem, 17(14), e00437.

[10] Du, Y. (2025). Research on Digital Quality Traceability System for Temperature-Controlled Supply Chain of Foreign Trade Wine Driven by Blockchain and IoT. Business and Social Sciences Proceedings, 4, 57-65.

[11] Jiao, Y., Zhao, B., Wang, A., & Shi, T. (2026). Construction and Empirical Study of a Modularized Teaching System for Art Courses Based on a Unified Training Pathway.

[12] Sebastian, J., Mebrahtu, C., Zeng, F., & Palkovits, R. (2026). Strong Metal‐Support Interactions on TiO2‐Supported Metal Catalysts for Fine‐Tuning Catalysis. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 65(1), e02611.

[13] Yang, J. (2026). Stage‐Coupled Computational Framework for Stratiﬁed Accessibility and Equity Analysis in Community‐Based Elderly Care Services.

[14] Prabhakar Reddy, K., Lim, H., Islam, A., Tian, Y., Hunt, A., Waluyo, I., & Rodriguez, J. A. (2025). CO2 Adsorption and Hydrogenation on Inverse InO x/Cu (111) Catalysts: Active Role of the Oxide–Metal Interface. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 17(25), 36810-36820.

[15] Wu, J., Wu, D., Zhang, J., & Peng, Y. (2026). Generative AI Feedback in Junior High School Artistic Creation Evaluation. Available at SSRN 7244838.

[16] Shakil, R., Akhe, A. S., Wahid, F., Imran, A. B., & Chowdhury, A. N. (2026). Carbon‐based Solar Fuels: Methanol, Ethanol, and Beyond. Solar Fuels: Technologies and Applications for a Sustainable Energy Future, 1, 289-324.

[17] Gu, X. (2026). Identifying Causal Effects and Analyzing Heterogeneity of User Growth Interventions on Digital Platforms: Evidence from Large-Scale Behavioral Data. Available at SSRN 6809181.

[18] Pozzati, M., Deriu, C., Ragonese, P., Cattelan, M., Lamberti, F., Zahorodna, V., ... & Wang, M. (2026). MXene-modified BiVO4/FePO4 photoanodes for solar oxygen evolution. Nanoscale Advances.

[19] Villardon, A., Gallego-Mena, L., Dorado, F., & Sanchez-Silva, L. (2026). Olive stone-derived hydrochars for CO2 methanation: synergistic and antagonistic effects of ZnCl2 and FeCl2 in Ni-based catalysts. Energy Conversion and Management: X, 101851.

[20] Bao, Y., Qiu, Y., & Wang, H. (2026, May). Unified Identity Layer for Hyperscale Ecosystems: A Framework for Cross-Platform User Attribution and Experimentation. In 2026 6th International Conference on Machine Learning and Intelligent Systems Engineering (MLISE) (pp. 540-543). IEEE.

[21] Musig, B., Aznar, M., Gálvez, M. E., & Navarro, M. V. (2026). CeO2-Based and Containing Catalysts for CO2 Methanation: A Short Review.

[22] You, S. (2026). Verifiable Audit Mechanisms in AI Compliance Automation: Scalability. Available at SSRN 6547458.

[23] Jiao, Y., Shi, T., Zhao, B., & Wang, A. (2026). The Impact of VR Sketching Simulations on the Assessment of Scale and Site Suitability in Public Art Spaces.

[24] van den Bosch, I. C., Zaman, J. U., Shterk, G., Hamed, M. H., Schneider, M., Ratovskii, V., ... & Baeumer, C. (2025). Laboratory-based in situ and operando tricolor x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Science advances, 11(34), eadw6673.