Ultra‐Narrow Alkane Product Distribution in Polyethylene Waste Hydrocracking by Zeolite Micro‐Mesopore Diffusion Optimization

Abstract Plastic pollution poses a pressing environmental challenge in modern society. Chemical catalytic conversion has emerged as a promising solution for upgrading waste plastics into valuable liquid alkanes and other high value products. However, the current methods yield mixed products with a wide carbon distribution. To address this challenge, we present a bifunctional catalytic system consisting of β zeolite mixed hierarchical Pt@Hie‐TS‐1, designed for the conversion of low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) into liquid alkanes. This system achieves a 94.0 % yield of liquid alkane, with 84.8 % of C 5 −C 7 light alkanes. Combined with in situ FTIR and molecular dynamics simulation, the shape‐selective mechanisms is elucidated, which ensures that only olefins of the appropriate size can diffuse to the encapsulated Pt sites within the zeolite for hydrogenation, resulting in an ultra‐narrow product distribution. Furthermore, by optimizing the micro‐mesopores of Pt@Hie‐TS‐1, the scaling relationship between the pore structure and the conversion/selectivity is identified. The rapid diffusion of olefins within these micro‐mesopores significantly enhances the catalytic efficiency. Our findings contribute to the design of efficient catalysts for plastic waste valorization.