- Wang, Lu;
- Wan, Jiawei;
- El Gabaly, Farid;
- Fernandes Cauduro, Andre;
- Mills, Bernice;
- Chen, Jeng-Lung;
- Hsu, Liang-Ching;
- Lee, Daewon;
- Zhao, Xiao;
- Wang, Caiqi;
- Dong, Zhun;
- Lin, Hongfei;
- Somorjai, Gabor;
- Rosner, Fabian;
- Jiang, De-En;
- Singh, Seema;
- Salmeron, Miquel;
- Zheng, Haimei;
- Prendergast, David;
- Su, Ji;
- Breunig, Hanna;
- Yang, Ji
Developing atomically synergistic bifunctional catalysts relies on the creation of colocalized active atoms to facilitate distinct elementary steps in catalytic cycles. Herein, we show that the atomically-synergistic binuclear-site catalyst (ABC) consisting of [Formula: see text]-O-Cr6+ on zeolite SSZ-13 displays unique catalytic properties for iso-stoichiometric co-conversion of ethane and CO2. Ethylene selectivity and utilization of converted CO2 can reach 100 % and 99.0% under 500 °C at ethane conversion of 9.6%, respectively. In-situ/ex-situ spectroscopic studies and DFT calculations reveal atomic synergies between acidic Zn and redox Cr sites. [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) sites facilitate β-C-H bond cleavage in ethane and the formation of Zn-Hδ- hydride, thereby the enhanced basicity promotes CO2 adsorption/activation and prevents ethane C-C bond scission. The redox Cr site accelerates CO2 dissociation by replenishing lattice oxygen and facilitates H2O formation/desorption. This study presents the advantages of the ABC concept, paving the way for the rational design of novel advanced catalysts.