M_xO_y–ZrO₂ (M = Zn, Co, Cu) Solid Solutions Derived from Schiff Base-Bridged UiO-66 Composites as High-Performance Catalysts for CO₂ Hydrogenation

Metal–organic frameworks have been exploited as excellent solid precursors and templates for the preparation integrated nanocatalysts with multicomponent and hierarchical structures. Herein, a novel synthetic protocol has been developed to fabricate versatile Zr-based solid solutions (such as ZnO–ZrO2, Co3O4–ZrO2, and CuO–ZrO2) via pyrolysis of Schiff base-modified UiO-66 octahedrons (size <100 nm), which were then utilized as efficient catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation. The Schiff base serves as an effective bridge to dope secondary metal ions into UiO-66 frameworks with controlled amounts of 0.13–8.8 wt %, which are initially hard to achieve. Interestingly, by simply changing the loading metal ions, the selectivity of C1 hydrogenation products can be facilely tuned. For instance, the maximum CO2 conversion of ZnO–ZrO2, Co3O4–ZrO2, and CuO–ZrO2 solid solutions were 5.8, 11.4, and 22.5%, with the main product selectivity of 70% CH3OH, 92.5% CH4, and 86.7% CO, respectively. Moreover, in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectra characterization reveals that the significant difference in C1 product selectivity is mainly determined by the balance of *HCOO, *CH3O, and *CO intermediate species over the Zr-based solid solutions.