Citation: Vertepov, A.E.; Fedorova, A.A.; Batkin, A.M.; Knotko, A.V.; Maslakov, K.I.; Doljenko, V.D.; Vasiliev, A.V.; Kapustin, G.I.; Shatalova, T.B.; Sorokina, N.M.; et al. CO 2 Hydrogenation to Methanol on CuO-ZnO/SiO 2 and CuO-ZnO/CeO 2 -SiO 2 Catalysts Synthesized with β-Cyclodextrin Template. Catalysts 2023, 13, 1231. https://doi.org/10.3390/ catal13091231 Academic Editor: Leonarda Liotta Received: 29 June 2023 Revised: 16 August 2023 Accepted: 17 August 2023 Published: 23 August 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). catalysts Article CO 2 Hydrogenation to Methanol on CuO-ZnO/SiO 2 and CuO-ZnO/CeO 2 -SiO 2 Catalysts Synthesized with β-Cyclodextrin Template Andrey E. Vertepov 1 , Anna A. Fedorova 1 , Alexander M. Batkin 2,3 , Alexander V. Knotko 1 , Konstantin I. Maslakov 1 , Vladimir D. Doljenko 1,2 , Alexander V. Vasiliev 1 , Gennadiy I. Kapustin 2 , Tatyana B. Shatalova 1 , Nadezhda M. Sorokina 1 , Leonid M. Kustov 1,2,3, *, Igor V. Morozov 1 and Alexander L. Kustov 1,2,3 1 Chemistry Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia; nispaden@mail.ru (A.E.V.); annaaf@mail.ru (A.A.F.); knotko@inorg.chem.msu.ru (A.V.K.); nonvitas@gmail.com (K.I.M.); Doljenko.vladimir@gmail.com (V.D.D.); a.vasiliev@inorg.chem.msu.ru (A.V.V.); shatalovatb@gmail.com (T.B.S.); asorokina.msu@gmail.com (N.M.S.); miv448@mail.ru (I.V.M.); kyst@list.ru (A.L.K.) 2 Laboratory of Development and Research of Polyfunctional Catalysts, N.D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia; granit89@yandex.ru (A.M.B.); gik@ioc.ac.ru (G.I.K.) 3 Laboratory of Nanochemistry and Ecology, Institute of Ecotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”, 119049 Moscow, Russia * Correspondence: lmkustov@mail.ru Abstract: A series of mixed copper (II)—zinc oxide catalysts supported on unmodified and ceria- modified silica supports were synthesized using β-cyclodextrin as a template. The novelty of this work lies in the use of cyclosextrins for the template synthesis of catalyst supports. The obtained samples were analyzed by XRD, SEM-EDX, low-temperature nitrogen physisorption, XPS, and EPR. The magnetic properties of the catalysts were also measured. The thermal decomposition of precursors was analyzed by TGA combined with mass-spectrometric analysis of the evolved gases. The effects of the support pore size, the nature of the active phase and its loading, as well as the sequence of component deposition on the catalyst performance in the CO 2 conversion to methanol were studied. The catalysts with cerium added at the gelation stage demonstrated the best performance. The selectivity of these samples reaches values of more than 90% over a fairly ide temperature range, with the productivity reaching 480 g/kg cat·h at 300 ◦ C. Keywords: CO 2 utilization; methanol synthesis; copper oxide; zinc oxide; ceria; silica gel; β-cyclodextrin 1. Introduction It is well understood that the increase in the CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere leads to climate change and negatively affects the human health. There are three main ways to diminish the CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere [1]. The first is to directly reduce the emission of this harmful pollutant. However, despite many efforts and interna- tional agreements on CO 2 emission reduction, its concentration has continued to increase constantly. Therefore, this method does not seem to be technologically effective. The second is to store huge amounts of CO 2 . However, this method has not developed far beyond pilot projects. In the third way, CO 2 is used as a raw material for the production of alkanes, some other hydrocarbons, carboxylic acids, alcohols, etc. This approach simulta- neously solves two problems: utilization of carbon dioxide and industrial production of valuable substances. The CO 2 molecule is relatively inert, so breaking its chemical bonds is not easy [2]. This process is not usually performed due to the extreme conditions required. Therefore, Catalysts 2023, 13, 1231. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal13091231 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/catalysts