LAUSR

Abstract Methanation of carbon dioxide is a promising approach to ameliorate greenhouse effect. Rhodium based catalysts have been intensively investigated due to its ability in cleavage of C O bond, but the role of support in the catalysts was underestimated. In this regard, we explored the methanation of CO2 over Rh catalysts with three metal oxide supports (TiO2, Al2O3, and ZnO). It was found that Rh/TiO2 exhibited the highest catalytic activity with product yield of 455 mmol gcat-1 h−1 (CH4 and CO) at 370 °C and 2 MPa, which is 2 and 14 times higher than Rh/A12O3 and Rh/ZnO, respectively. Moreover, the CH4 selectivity over Rh/TiO2 was higher than 95 %. The superior catalytic performance of Rh/TiO2 can be mainly attributed to its unique electronic structure associated with stronger Rh-TiO2 interaction and the existence of Ti3+ ions on TiO2.