Converting CO2 Hydrogenation Products from Paraffins to Olefins: Modification of Zeolite Surface Properties by a UIO-n Membrane

In the industry, designing synergetic functional nanocatalysts is a desirable strategy to achieve both high activity and selectivity for CO2 hydrogenation. Herein, we fabricate the bicomponent tandem catalysts ZnZrOx/SAPO-34@UIO-n (n = 66, 66-NH2, and 67) to catalyze CO2 conversion into light olefins. Monodispersed SAPO-34 zeolites are used as the core for the growth of the UIO-n shell to obtain its membrane-encapsulated nanocrystal, SAPO-34@UIO-n, which is mixed by grinding with ZnZrOx to obtain the ZnZrOx/SAPO-34@UIO-n catalyst. CO2 hydrogenation yielded highly selective C2–C4 olefins (80%) for the catalyst ZnZrOx/SAPO-34@UIO-66, whereas 57% C2–C4 paraffins were obtained for the catalyst ZnZrOx/SAPO-34 without a UIO-n membrane. The stable UIO-n membrane in the bifunctional catalyst ZnZrOx/SAPO-34@UIO-n adjusted the conversion of CO2 hydrogenation products from paraffins to olefins.