MSE research team，led by Prof. Li Landong, developed new catalysts of zeolite-confined bicomponent Zn–Y clusters for one-pot catalytic conversion of ethanol to butadiene, which was enhanced by zeolite structural confinement effects.
The one-pot conversion of ethanol to butadiene is a promising route for butadiene production; however, simultaneous attainment of high butadiene productivity and high butadiene selectivity is challenging. Here, zeolite-confined bicomponent Zn–Y clusters were constructed and applied as robust catalysts for ethanol-to-butadiene conversion with a state-of-the-art butadiene productivity of 2.33 gBD/gcat/h and butadiene selectivity of ∼63%. Structural confinement effects are responsible for the enhanced butadiene production efficiency via a multiple-step cascade reaction.
The work was published by ACS Catalysis, PDF