Zhaopeng Liu,Youming Ni,Zhongpan Hu,Yi Fu,Xudong Fang,Qike Jiang,Zhiyang Chen,Wenliang Zhu,Zhongmin Liu
The utilization of metal oxide-zeolite catalysts in the syngas-to-olefin reaction is a promising strategy for producing C 2 –C 4 olefins from non-petroleum resources. However, the effect of the crystal phase of metal oxides on the catalytic activity of these oxides is still ambiguous. Herein, typical metal oxides (ZnO/ZrO 2 ) with different crystal phases (monoclinic ( m -ZrO 2 ) and tetragonal ( t -ZrO 2 )) were employed for syngas conversion. The (ZnO/ m -ZrO 2 +SAPO-34) composite catalyst exhibited 80.5% selectivity for C 2 –C 4 olefins at a CO conversion of 27.9%, where the results are superior to those (CO conversion of 16.4% and C 2 –C 4 olefin selectivity of 76.1%) obtained over (ZnO/ t -ZrO 2 +SAPO-34). The distinct differences are ascribed to the larger number of hydroxyl groups, Lewis acid sites, and oxygen defects in ZnO/ m -ZrO 2 compared to ZnO/ t -ZrO 2 . These features result in the formation of more formate and methoxy intermediate species on the ZnO/ m -ZrO 2 oxides during syngas conversion, followed by the formation of more light olefins over SAPO-34. The present findings provide useful information for the design of highly efficient ZrO 2 -based catalysts for syngas conversion.
Excessive emission of CO2 into the atmosphere has severely impacted the global ecological environment. Converting CO2 into valuable chemicals and fuels is of great significance for sustainable development. However, low activity and undesirable selectivity often result from the inherent inertness of CO2. Herein, K- or/and Zn-modified Fe-based catalysts were prepared by an incipient-wetness impregnation method for CO2 hydrogenation via a cascade reaction. The results indicate that K species exist as K2O while Zn species exist as ZnFe2O4. In the CO2 hydrogenation pathway, K2O facilitates the adsorption of CO2 and restrains the adsorption of H2, accelerating the transformation of CO2 into C2–C4 olefins rather than paraffins while Zn species promote the dispersion of Fe species, leading to improved activity. Synergistically, a K- and Zn-modified Fe-based catalyst (2Zn–10K–Fe/Al) shows excellent catalytic CO2 hydrogenation activity, achieving a CO2 conversion of 77% which is 1.8 times that (42%) of the unmodified Fe-based catalyst (Fe/Al). Our catalyst also shows a significantly promoted selectivity to C2–C4 olefins of 17% in comparison with the Fe/Al catalyst (0%). It is envisioned that such a binary effect of elements might contribute to the low-cost and industrial production of Fe-based catalysts for selective CO2 conversion.