Direct conversion of CO₂ to a single specific hydrocarbon with high selectivity is extremely attractive but very challenging. Herein, by employing an InZrO_x-Beta composite catalyst in the CO₂ hydrogenation, a high selectivity of 53.4% to butane is achieved in hydrocarbons (CO free) under 315 °C and 3.0 MPa, at a CO₂ conversion of 20.4%. Various characterizations and DFT calculation reveal that the generation of methanol-related intermediates by CO₂ hydrogenation is closely related to the surface oxygen vacancies of InZrO_x, which can be tuned through modulating the preparation methods. In contrast, the three-dimensional 12-ring channels of H-Beta conduces to forming higher methylbenzenes and methylnaphthalenes containing isopropyl side-chain, which favors the transformation of methanol-related intermediates to butane through alkyl side-chain elimination and subsequent methylation and hydrogenation. Moreover, the catalytic stability of InZrO_x-Beta in the CO₂ hydrogenation is considerably improved by a surface silica protection strategy which can effectively inhibit the indium migration.

Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of guaiacol to cyclohexane, important for bio-oil upgrading, is usually performed at high reaction temperature (≥200 °C). In this work, low temperature transformation of guaiacol to cyclohexane was achieved at 140 °C over non-noble metal Ni/SiO₂ and various zeolites. Among zeolites tested (HUSY, HMOR, Hβ, HZSM-5, SAPO-34), Hβ zeolite exhibited superior catalytic activity due to its appropriate pore structure and acid strength. The open pore with three-dimensional structure of Hβ facilitates the diffusion of guaiacol and intermediates. Meanwhile, weak acid strength of Hβ efficiently reduces the competitive adsorption of guaiacol, and then promotes the dehydration of intermediate 2-methoxycyclohexanol. Moreover, the catalytic performance in guaiacol HDO to cyclohexane is also closely related to Si/Al ratio of Hβ. Owing to its moderate acid density, the maximum yield of cyclohexane reaches 91.7% on Hβ(Si/Al = 50) combined with Ni/SiO₂ at 140 °C, which is the lowest temperature ever reported over non-noble metal catalysts.

The Zn species in the Zn/ZSM-5 catalyst undergo reciprocal transformation of ZnO clusters and ZnOH⁺ during the ethylene aromatization process. They then migrate to form large-grain ZnO on the outer surface, and finally lost as Zn vapor.