Tandem catalysts comprising HZSM-5 zeolite and metallic
oxides
are common choices for the hydrogenation of CO2 to aromatics,
a process of high strategic value in view of carbon capture, utilization,
and storage. Nevertheless, due to time-consuming procedures for the
preparation of HZSM-5 and the frequent inactivation of reactions resulting
from carbon deposition, lately, researchers have focused their efforts
on the modification of HZSM-5. Meanwhile, it is still a huge challenge
to find novel catalysts, free from HZSM-5, for successfully hydrogenating
CO2 to an aromatic moiety. In this work, tandem catalysts
based on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and metal oxides were
demonstrated to have high selectivity to prepare aromatics from CO2 without using HZSM-5, which has introduced a new way for
developing catalysts for facile hydrogenation of CO2 to
aromatics. The tandem catalysts were extensively studied for their
physicochemical attributes by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron
microscopy (SEM), NH3 temperature-programmed desorption
(NH3-TPD), pyridine infrared radiation (Py-IR), H2 temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), CO2 temperature-programmed desorption (CO2-TPD), X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy (XPS), and N2 isothermal adsorption–desorption
methods. The effects of the amount and type of metal oxides as well
as the influence of reaction conditions on the performance of the
catalyst were also examined. The experimental outcome demonstrated
that under optimum reaction conditions, the CO2 conversion
rate of the 8% ZnO-UiO-66 catalyst was 25.0%, with a selectivity of
76.5% for benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX). Meanwhile, the side
reactions can also be effectively inhibited, and a high selectivity
(67.4%) of aromatics can be achieved under atmospheric pressure. The
adsorption properties of the ZnO-UiO-66 catalyst for H2 and CO2 were also studied by density functional theory
(DFT) and in situ DRIFTS. In addition, the mechanism of the reaction
that converts CO2 to aromatics via hydrogenation is also
discussed. The attainment of the energy barrier and transition state
for the hydrogenation of CO2 to aromatics was achieved
through a minimal energy search of the transition state of LST/QST.