The fabrication of Ga₂O₃/ZSM-5 hollow fibers for efficient catalytic conversion of n-Butane into light olefins and aromatics

In this study, the dehydrogenation component of Ga₂O₃ was introduced into ZSM-5 nanocrystals to prepare Ga₂O₃/ZSM-5 hollow fiber-based bifunctional catalysts. The physicochemical features of as-prepared catalysts were characterized by means of XRD, BET, SEM, STEM, NH₃-TPD, etc., and their performances for the catalytic conversion of n-butane to produce light olefins and aromatics were investigated. The results indicated that a very small amount of gallium can cause a marked enhancement in the catalytic activity of ZSM-5 because of the synergistic effect of the dehydrogenation and aromatization properties of Ga₂O₃ and the cracking function of ZSM-5. Compared with Ga₂O₃/ZSM-5 nanoparticles, the unique hierarchical macro-meso-microporosity of the as-prepared hollow fibers can effectively enlarge the bifunctionality by enhancing the accessibility of active sites and the diffusion. Consequently, Ga₂O₃/ZSM-5 hollow fibers show excellent catalytic conversion of n-butane, with the highest yield of light olefins plus aromatics at 600 °C by 87.6%, which is 56.3%, 24.6%, and 13.3% higher than that of ZSM-5, ZSM-5 zeolite fibers, and Ga2O₃/ZSM-5, respectively.