Highly selective formation of isobutene over Zn modified m-ZrO₂ catalyst from syngas

The direct synthesis of isobutene from syngas is a very promising route, but there has been a bottleneck in achieving high isobutene selectivity. Here, the efficient synthesis of isobutene from syngas was achieved over a series of Zn modified m-ZrO2 catalysts. Zn species played a key role in improving the physicochemical properties of the m-ZrO2 catalyst. The structure and physicochemical properties of the catalysts were revealed by multiple characterization technique. The characterization results revealed that the introduction of Zn species significantly improved the intensity of Zr3+ and the number of oxygen vacancies. Meanwhile, it also improved the acid-base properties of the m-ZrO2 catalyst. These excellent properties were beneficial to the formation of isobutene from syngas. In CO hydrogenation, 2 % Zn/m-ZrO2 catalyst achieved 93.3 % selectivity for isobutene in C-4 hydrocarbons. This enhancement of isobutene selectivity and catalytic activity is very helpful for the development of novel efficient catalysts for the direct synthesis isobutene from syngas.