Direct syngas conversion to liquefied petroleum gas: Importance of a multifunctional metal-zeolite interface

It is challenging to fabricate a multifunctional catalyst for consecutively catalyzing multiple reactions. Herein, we report a well-defined metal-zeolite interface derived from a CuZnAl@H-Beta core@shell catalyst to realize one-step syngas conversion to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The multifunctional interface between CuZnAl core and H-Beta zeolite shell is composed of Cu and acid zeolite with a content gradient, through which synthesized methanol via syngas on the core will pass. The interface is able to catalyze the tandem dehydration of methanol to olefins on acid sites and olefin hydrogenation to C_3–4 saturated hydrocarbons (LPG fraction) over exposed Cu sites on the interface instead of noble metals in conventional catalysts. The selectivity of LPG in hydrocarbons over the prepared capsule catalyst reaches as high as 77% accompanied by a record low methane and C₂ selectivity (<2.0%).