Direct conversion of CO₂ into liquid fuels with high selectivity over a bifunctional catalyst

Although considerable progress has been made in carbon dioxide (CO₂) hydrogenation to various C₁ chemicals, it is still a great challenge to synthesize value-added products with two or more carbons, such as gasoline, directly from CO₂ because of the extreme inertness of CO₂ and a high C-C coupling barrier. Here we present a bifunctional catalyst composed of reducible indium oxides (In₂O₃) and zeolites that yields a high selectivity to gasoline-range hydrocarbons (78.6%) with a very low methane selectivity (1%). The oxygen vacancies on the In₂O₃ surfaces activate CO₂ and hydrogen to form methanol, and C-C coupling subsequently occurs inside zeolite pores to produce gasoline-range hydrocarbons with a high octane number. The proximity of these two components plays a crucial role in suppressing the undesired reverse water gas shift reaction and giving a high selectivity for gasoline-range hydrocarbons. Moreover, the pellet catalyst exhibits a much better performance during an industry-relevant test, which suggests promising prospects for industrial applications.