Carbon
dioxide hydrogenation to value-added fuels and chemicals
has been studied widely as a means to recycle the most-troublesome
greenhouse gas. The reaction produces hundreds of different chemicals,
and therefore, selectivity control toward specific desired products
is of paramount importance. In this study, a hybrid catalyst system
consisting of Na/ZnFe2O4 (ZFO) and a CHA-zeolite
(SSZ-13 or SAPO-34) is developed to maximize C2–C4 light hydrocarbon production. Utilizing the compact 3.8 Å
pore size of CHA-zeolites, the Na/ZnFe2O4 catalyst-produced
long-chain hydrocarbons are efficiently shortened to C2–C4 hydrocarbons with over 55% selectivity in the
hybrid systems. Notably, ZFO + SAPO-34 shows a preference
for light olefins, while ZFO + SSZ-13 uniquely enhances
selectivity for C3 products. The difference is attributed
to the much stronger acid sites present in SSZ-13 than in SAPO-34,
which promote hydrogenation of olefins and the ethylene-to-propane
conversion reaction in particular. Further modification of SSZ-13
with steam treatment leads to the dealumination of its framework and
an enhanced activity of the ethylene-to-propane reaction, yielding
32.8% of C3-selectivity. Accordingly, a hybrid catalytic
system combining a CO2 Fischer–Tropsch catalyst
with a CHA-zeolite is a promising route to produce light hydrocarbons
from CO2 hydrogenation more selectively than single catalysts.
This work also demonstrates that acidity control could be a powerful
tool to manipulate the reaction pathway that occurs on zeolite catalysts.