Impact of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia on Direct CO2 Hydrogenation to Light Olefins over a Tandem Catalyst Composed of In2O3/YSZ and SAPO-34

Direct carbon dioxide (CO2) conversion to light olefins via a methanol (MeOH) intermediate route by a tandem catalyst is an attractive approach for CO2 reduction. Developing a tandem catalyst for CO2-to-MeOH and MeOH-to-olefins reactions is challenging due to the differences in thermodynamics and reaction kinetics of each reaction. Herein, we report a highly stable In2O3/YSZ//SAPO-34 tandem catalyst for direct CO2 hydrogenation to light olefins. Compared to the ZrO2 support, In2O3 supported on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) presents a stable light olefin selectivity without increasing CO production. The high oxygen vacancy concentration in YSZ can promote the adsorption of reactants and inhibit the hydroxylation of metal oxides. In addition, the strong metal–support interaction of In2O3/YSZ can prevent the over-reduction of indium species, maintaining the oxidation states of active sites for MeOH production. Our results show that YSZ has advantageous effects on indirect CO2 activation and can be a promising application for CO2 hydrogenation to high-value-added chemicals.