The Effect of Zeolite Features on Catalytic Performance of CuZnZr/Zeolite Hybrid Catalysts in One-pot CO2-to-DME Hydrogenation

The production of DME from CO2 hydrogenation is a way of recycling CO2 and it requires the use of a hybrid multifunctional catalyst to efficiently catalyze the two consecutive reaction paths of methanol synthesis and methanol dehydration directly in one single step. The aim of this work is to investigate the utilization of zeolite-based catalysts for dimethyl ether synthesis by assessing the role of catalyst features in both methanol dehydration and one-pot CO2 hydrogenation. Obtained results, discussed in terms of turnover frequency reveal that FER-type zeolite prepared with Si/Al=10 exhibits the best performances during vapor-phase methanol dehydration whilst the efficiency of CO2-to-DME process strongly depends on the way in which metallic and acidic materials are coupled. Single grain prepared via gel-oxalate precipitation of CuZnZr over zeolite crystals exhibit the best performances in terms of CO2 conversion and DME productivity.