CeO2-Based and Containing Catalysts for CO2 Methanation: A Short Review

The great impact of carbon dioxide emissions on climate change motivates the development of technologies for carbon capture and utilization. CO2 methanation, which transforms CO2 into methane using renewable hydrogen, is a promising power-to-gas and carbon utilization pathway. Achieving high activity, strong CH4 selectivity, and long-term stability remains challenging, as well as pushes to tailor catalyst properties for the methanation reaction. Cerium oxide is therefore widely explored as a support or promoter due to its redox behaviour and oxygen vacancy chemistry. This review surveys recent literature on catalysts based and containing CeO2 applied for CO2 methanation, covering not only thermal operation but also non-conventional catalytic routes as photothermal, electrocatalytic, and plasma-assisted, with emphasis on how synthesis and role of Ce tune physicochemical properties and catalytic activity. Across reported systems, dispersing active metals (notably Ni and Ru, Cu for electrochemical systems) on ceria frequently yields to high CH4 selectivity. Redox properties of ceria enable optimal metal–support interactions and surface basicity to achieve effective CO2 activation in thermo-catalytic route. Further enhancement of oxygen mobility is associated with doped CeO2 and solid solutions such as Ce-Zr. The high oxygen storage capacity of CeO2 promotes photogenerated charge separation for light-driven performance and optimal plasma–catalyst interactions.