Engineered interfaces in indium-hafnium oxide catalysts unlock superior methanol productivity

Engineered interfaces in indium-hafnium oxide catalysts unlock superior methanol productivity | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Engineered interfaces in indium-hafnium oxide catalysts unlock superior methanol productivity Javier Pérez-Ramírez, Yung-Tai Chiang, Milica Ritopecki, Patrik Willi, and 12 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7472244/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Nanotechnology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Indium–zirconium oxides (InZrOx) rank among the most selective and stable catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. Yet, despite extensive research, the exceptional promotional effect of monoclinic zirconia (m-ZrO2) remains under debate and unsurpassed. Here, we show that monoclinic hafnium oxide (m-HfO2), a wide bandgap material underexplored in heterogeneous catalysis, can exceed this benchmark. Nanostructured indium-hafnium oxides (InHfOx) prepared via flame spray pyrolysis achieve up to 70% higher indium-specific methanol productivity than InZrOx, with the strongest promotional effect observed for atomically dispersed indium species. Complementary experimental and theoretical analyses reveal that enhanced stability of the monoclinic support surface, flexible chemical potential of indium single atoms, and a favourable hydride–proton reservoir in InHfOx act cooperatively to promote CO2 activation and intermediate hydrogenation. Precise control over the support surface hydroxylation is, however, essential. These findings establish a new benchmark for green methanol synthesis and provide generalizable principles for oxide–oxide interface engineering in catalyst design. Physical sciences/Chemistry/Catalysis/Heterogeneous catalysis Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials for energy and catalysis Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology/Nanoscale materials Physical sciences/Chemistry/Catalysis/Catalytic mechanisms Physical sciences/Materials science/Nanoscale materials/Structural properties green methanol hafnium oxide indium oxide electronic structure modulated chemical potentials Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files supplementaryinformation.pdf supplementary information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Nanotechnology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7472244","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":511923455,"identity":"10cf42eb-f8ba-4921-a6e6-b5055ebca10a","order_by":0,"name":"Javier 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