Enhanced CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol Using out-of-Plane Grown MoS2 Flakes on Amorphous Carbon Scaffold.

The conversion of excess carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable chemicals is critical for achieving a sustainable society. Among various catalysts, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has demonstrated potential for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. However, its catalytic activity has yet to be fully optimized, and scalable, industrially viable production methods remain underdeveloped. In this work, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) approach is introduced to grow vertically oriented MoS2 crystals on an amorphous carbon template. This method enhances the exposure of vacancy-rich basal planes, which are crucial for stable catalytic performance. The 2H-MoS2 flakes, supported on a conductive carbon scaffold, exhibit catalytic activity, achieving a net space-time yield of 2.68 gMeOH gcat⁻¹ h⁻¹ with a selectivity of 82.5% under mild conditions (264 °C, 10 bar). This work highlights a significant step toward the industrial application of MoS2-based catalysts for CO2 conversion, bridging the gap between fundamental research and scalable implementation.