Development of Tandem Catalysts for CO2 Hydrogenation to Olefins

The utilization of CO2 as a carbon source for synthesis of value-added chemicals and fuels, particularly light olefins, is one of the most attractive routes to convert CO2 as part of a large-scale process. Designing active, selective, and stable catalysts for olefin production is challenging because of the difficulty characterizing structure–property relationships for the highly complex CO2 hydrogenation reaction network. To understand the challenges and opportunities in converting CO2 directly to olefins over a single tandem catalyst, this Perspective reviews the following three routes: (1) direct hydrogenation of CO2 to olefins over promoted catalysts; (2) methanol synthesis followed by methanol-to-olefins (MeOH-mediated route); (3) CO production via the reverse-water–gas-shift reaction, followed by Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (CO-mediated route). Future research directions are proposed on the critical research areas of elucidating reaction mechanisms by combining in situ characterization techniques with density functional theory calculations, identifying structure–property relationships for the zeolite support, strategizing methods to increase catalyst lifetime, and developing advanced synthesis techniques for depositing a metal-based active phase within a zeolite for highly active, selective, and stable tandem catalysts.