Hydride-Enhanced CO2 Methanation: Water-Stable BaTiO2.4H0.6 as a New Support

Catalytic CO2 hydrogenation to CH4 provides a promising approach to producing natural gas, and reducing the emissions of global CO2. However, the efficiency of catalytic CO2 methanation is limited by slow kinetics at low temperatures. This study first demonstrates that an air- and water-stable perovskite oxyhydride BaTiO2.4H0.6 could function as an active support material for Ni-, Ru-based catalysts for CO2 methanation at 300–350 °C, a relatively lower temperature. With the oxyhydride support, the activity for Ni and Ru increases by a factor of 2–7 when compared to the BaTiO3 oxide support. Kinetic analysis shows reduced H2 poisoning probably due to spillover, implying that the activity change is due to the kinetics being influenced by hydride. Furthermore, the oxyhydride-supported Ni catalyst is also durable with its catalytic performance preserved for at least 10 h under a humid environment at elevated temperatures. It is anticipated that these perovskite oxyhydrides will shed new light on the design of high-efficiency metal-based catalysts for water-involved catalytic reactions.