Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2027, Vol. 92: 300-315.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(26)65161-3

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Enhanced CO2 hydrogenation to heavy hydrocarbons through diffusion-limited intermediate enrichment: Semi-open vs. open systems

Lisheng Guoa,1,*(), Liru Zhenga,1, Xinyu Zhanga, Xin Wanga, Jie Chenga, Mengdie Caia, Na Liub,*(), Kaige Wangc,*(), Youfeng Tiand, Jie Lie, Song Suna,*()   

  1. a School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, Anhui, China
    b State Key Laboratory of Woody Oil Resources Utilization, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, Hunan, China
    c State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, Zhejiang, China
    d Anhui Zhongding Sealing Parts Co., Ltd, Xuancheng 341881, Anhui, China
    e School of Chemistry and Materials, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225002, Jiangsu, China
  • Received:2026-02-06 Accepted:2026-02-24 Online:2027-01-02 Published:2026-10-30
  • Contact: *E-mail: lsguo@ahu.edu.cn (L. Guo),
    Liuna1912@163.com (N. Liu),
    kaigewang@zju.edu.cn (K. Wang),
    suns@ustc.edu.cn (S. Sun).
  • About author:First author contact:

    1 Contributed equally to this work.

    L. G., N. L., K. W., and S. S. directed the project. L. Z., X. Z., and X. W. carried out the experiments. M. C., N. L., J. C., J. L., and Y. T. assisted with characterization. L. G., and L. Z. drafted the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(22102001);National Natural Science Foundation of China(22472001);Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Woody Oil Resources Utilization;Key R&D Program of Zhejiang(2025C01173);University Synergy Innovation Program of Anhui Province(GXXT-2023-009)

Abstract:

Precisely tuning the nanoconfined microenvironment to optimize heterogeneous catalytic reaction pathways represents one of the critical challenges for achieving efficient and directional CO2 conversion. In this study, we systematically investigated the impact of confinement dimensions on CO2 hydrogenation performance by constructing a series of semi-open porous carbon spheres (MPCSx) with tunable pore sizes (x = 0, 10, 14, 30, 100 nm) supported CoFe alloy catalysts. Experimental results revealed that the catalyst Fe10Co2@MPCS14 with a pore size of 14 nm exhibits C5+ selectivity was twice that of open systems. To gain deeper insights into the structural origins of this optimal performance, we further elucidated the underlying microscopic mechanisms by combining Finite element method simulation with in-situ diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The 14 nm semi-open structure established a unique “enrichment-diffusion” dynamic equilibrium around the active sites, which not only substantially enhanced the local concentrations of CO2/H2 but also effectively stabilized key C1 intermediates such as HCOO*, HCO3*, and CO3*. thereby promoting C-C coupling and carbon chain growth. This work provides important mechanistic insights into the regulation of selectivity in heterogeneous catalytic reactions through spatial confinement microenvironment modulation.

Key words: CO2 hydrogenation, Nanopore domain, Semi-open system, CoFe alloy, Self-assembly