Literature Review of Synthesis of Fe-based

catalysts for RWGS reaction

• BY AMEER HAMZA
• Zhu, M., Ge, Q., & Zhu, X. (2020). Catalytic reduction of CO2 to CO via reverse water gas shift reaction: Recent
advances in the design of active and selective supported metal catalysts. Transactions of Tianjin University, 26,
172-187.
• Malik, W., Victoria Tafoya, J. P., Doszczeczko, S., Jorge Sobrido, A. B., Skoulou, V. K., Boa, A. N., ... & Volpe, R.
(2023). Synthesis of a Graphene-Encapsulated Fe3C/Fe Catalyst Supported on Sporopollenin Exine Capsules
and Its Use for the Reverse Water–Gas Shift Reaction. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.
Review of Catalyst Design for RWGS
MAIN FINDINGS:
• RWGS is mildly endothermic and competed by
exothermic CO2 methanation at low temps.

• Reviewed recent advancements in design strategies.

• Notable Strategies include:

• Varying support
• Enveloping metal particles
• Forming multimetallic alloys

SHORTCOMINGS
• RWGS catalysts with 100% CO selectivity still need to be
designed due to side reactions being a current issue
• Stability of catalysts has rarely been explored
• Reaction mechanism is still strongly debated

SOURCE: Zhu, M., Ge, Q., & Zhu, X. (2020). Catalytic reduction of CO2 to CO via reverse water gas shift reaction: Recent advances in the design of
active and selective supported metal catalysts. Transactions of Tianjin University, 26, 172-187.
Sporopollenin exine capsules (SpEC) can support the
synthesis of iron nanoparticles catalysts
MAIN FINDINGS:
• SpECs synthesized to iron nanoparticles via evaporative
precipitation and pyrolysis.
• Iron acetate concentration affects composition and
morphology of the nanoparticles.
• Various properties were easily tuned by varying the iron
loading.
• SpEC-Fe10% is highly active and selective for RWGS at
high temperatures -> showing promise as an
inexpensive and sustainable catalyst.

SHORTCOMINGS
• Extra step required to extract SpEC, which is not the case
for other biomass.
• RWGS application needs to be more rigorously tested as
Raman spectra depicting the D and G
current results are only preliminary. bands of the SpEC- Fex composites.

SOURCE: Malik et al, 2023. Synthesis of a Graphene-Encapsulated Fe3C/Fe Catalyst Supported on Sporopollenin Exine Capsules and Its Use for the
Reverse Water–Gas Shift Reaction. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.
Comparison of Fe-based catalyst with other catalysts
in the presence of H2S
MAIN FINDINGS:
• The study tested three catalysts (Fe/CeO2, MDC-7, and
Co–Mo) for a chemical reaction (RWGS) in the presence
of hydrogen sulfide (H2S, sour gas).

• Fe/CeO2 showed better and stable performance

compared to the other two catalysts.

• Adding H2S may improve the reaction, as it can help

reduce CO2.

SHORTCOMINGS
Figure depicting active sites of catalyst
• Exact mechanism of catalysts is unclear and needs to be
researched further.
• Further testing on the iron-based catalyst (e.g iron loading
amount) needs to be investigated.

SOURCE: Watanabe, R., Karasawa, F., Yokoyama, C., Oshima, K., Kishida, M., Hori, M., ... & Fukuhara, C. (2023). Highly stable Fe/CeO 2 catalyst for
the reverse water gas shift reaction in the presence of H 2 S. RSC advances, 13(17), 11525-11529.