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 ZnZrO_x/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 ZnZrO_x to obtain the ZnZrO_x/SAPO-34@ UIO-n catalyst. CO₂ hydrogenation yielded highly selective C₂−C₄ olefins (80%) for the catalyst ZnZrO_x/SAPO-34@UIO-66, whereas 57% C₂−C₄ paraffins were obtained for the catalyst ZnZrO_x/SAPO-34 without a UIO-n membrane. The stable UIO-n membrane in the bifunctional catalyst ZnZrO_x/SAPO-34@UIO-n adjusted the conversion of CO₂ hydrogenation products from paraffins to olefins.