Syngas conversion can play a vital role in providing energy and chemical supplies while meeting environmental requirements as the world gradually shifts toward a net-zero. While prospects of this process cannot be doubted, there is a lingering challenge in distinct product selectivity over the bulk transitional metal catalysts. To advance research in this respect, composite catalysts comprising traditional metal catalysts and zeolites have been deployed to distinct product selectivity while suppressing side reactions. Zeolites are common but highly efficient materials used in the chemical industry for hydroprocessing. Combining the advantages of zeolites and some transition metal catalysts has promoted the catalytic production of various hydrocarbons (e.g., light olefins, aromatics, and liquid fuels) and oxygenates (e.g., methanol, dimethyl ether, formic acid, and higher alcohols) from syngas. In this outlook, a thorough revelation on recent progress in syngas conversion to various products over metal-zeolite composite catalysts is validated. The strategies adopted to couple the metal species and zeolite material into a composite as well as the consequential morphologies for specific product selectivity are highlighted. The key zeolite descriptors that influence catalytic performance, such as framework topologies, proximity and confinement effects, acidities and cations, pore systems, and particle sizes are discussed to provide a deep understanding of the significance of zeolites in syngas conversion. Finally, an outlook regarding challenges and opportunities for syngas conversion using zeolite-based catalysts to meet emerging energy and environmental demands is also presented.

Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) remains a technology of the future for the sustainable production of hydrocarbon fuels. To date, controlling the hydrocarbon selectivity is still a major challenge since the product distribution follows the Anderson–Schulz–Flory (ASF) model, which suggests a maximum gasoline selectivity of ∼48%. In this work, we report the characteristics of zeolite Y-encapsulated iron catalysts whose FTS activity deviates from the ASF model with an enhanced gasoline selectivity of up to 65.7%. The catalysts were synthesized by a low-cost crystallization procedure using activated carbon (AC) as a sacrificial template. The AC template enhanced the dispersion of the Fe nanoparticles and porosity of the catalysts while ensuring effective fixation of the Fe nanoparticles within the zeolite Y crystals. The final catalysts further demonstrated moderate acidity dominated by Lewis acids and a high surface area, with Fe facets which easily convert to high spin Fe₅C₂(510). These properties collaboratively enhanced C–C coupling for direct C_5–11 hydrocarbon synthesis in FTS. The discussions from this work reveal and confirm preliminary relationships that exist between the phases of Fe-based FTS catalysts and their influence on C–C coupling in FTS reactions.

As a distinctive supportable route, the solvent-free synthesis of zeolites not only minimizes the problems of conversional hydrothermal synthesis, but also greatly increases the product yields with advantageous characteristics, such as reduced waste production and a hierarchical pore structure. Herein, we demonstrate using in situ crystal Co/SiO₂ to form a hierarchical catalyst with Co particles entrapped inside the ZSM-5 body via a solvent-free process. Na-type zeolite catalysts enhanced the production of gasoline-range (C₅–C₁₁) products, with Co@NaZSM-5 giving a high selectivity of 68% in the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. Obviously, all characterizations showed that these solvent-free synthesized samples had high crystallization and a high surface area for mass transfer. This hierarchical zeolite has the potential to be applied to other similar materials owing to its convenient synthesis method, features, and outstanding results.