Ultra‐Narrow Alkane Product Distribution in Polyethylene Waste Hydrocracking by Zeolite Micropore Diffusion Optimization

Plastic pollution poses a pressing environmental challenge in modern society. Chemical catalytic conversion offers a promising solution for upgrading waste plastics into valuable liquid alkanes and other high value products. However, the current methods yield mixed products with a broad carbon distribution. To address this challenge, we introduce a tandem catalytic system that features matched acidic sites and confined metals for the conversion of low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) into liquid alkanes. This system achieves a liquid alkane yield of 94.0%, with 84.8% of C5‐C7 light alkanes. Combined with in situ FTIR and molecular dynamics simulation, the shape‐selective mechanisms is elucidated, which ensures that only olefins of the appropriate size can diffuse to the encapsulated Pt sites within the zeolite for hydrogenation, resulting in an ultra‐narrow product distribution. Furthermore, due to the rapid diffusion of olefins within the hierarchical zeolite, the catalyst exhibits higher catalytic efficiency and resistance to coking tendency. Our findings contribute to the design of efficient catalysts for plastic waste valorization.