Selective conversion of CO(2) and H(2) into aromatics

Transformation of greenhouse gas CO(2) and renewable H(2) into fuels and commodity chemicals is recognized as a promising route to store fluctuating renewable energy. Although several C(1) chemicals, olefins, and gasoline have been successfully synthesized by CO(2) hydrogenation, selective conversion of CO(2) and H(2) into aromatics is still challenging due to the high unsaturation degree and complex structures of aromatics. Here we report a composite catalyst of ZnAlO(x) and H-ZSM-5 which yields high aromatics selectivity (73.9%) with extremely low CH(4) selectivity (0.4%) among the carbon products without CO. Methanol and dimethyl ether, which are synthesized by hydrogenation of formate species formed on ZnAlO(x) surface, are transmitted to H-ZSM-5 and subsequently converted into olefins and finally aromatics. Furthermore, 58.1% p-xylene in xylenes is achieved over the composite catalyst containing Si-H-ZSM-5. ZnAlO(x)&H-ZSM-5 suggests a promising application in manufacturing aromatics from CO(2) and H(2).