3DOM-NiFe2O4 as an effective catalyst for turning CO2 and H2O into fuel (CH4)

Three-dimensional ordered macroporous NiFe2O4 (3DOM-NFO) powder was synthesized through the direct templating method combined with the sol–gel combustion technique. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) spheres with different sizes were used as the hard templates. In order to understand the effect of PMMA spheres mean size on the structure and catalytic activity of synthesized 3DOM-NFO, the detailed characterization of the material was carried out by XRD, SEM, BET, XPS, UV–VIS, and DRS techniques. Direct hydrogeneration production of CH4 from CO2 and H2O was used to evaluate the catalysis performance of 3DOM-NFOs. The production of CH4 evolution can reach 1040.8 μmol/g at 350 °C and ambient pressure when 300 nm template was used. It was concluded that the specific surface area and moderate concentration of oxygen vacancies are the crucial factors affecting the catalysis properties. Reasonably high turnover number of 0.244 and high CH4 conversion efficiency of 0.897% were obtained in this study. 3DOM-NFO can be a promising catalyst for hydrocarbon fuel production by directly using CO2 and H2O as the safe and cheap feedstocks.