Hierarchical FAU Zeolites Boosting the Hydrocracking of Polyolefin Waste into Liquid Fuels

Conventional metal-zeolite catalysts struggle with hydrocracking polyolefin wastes due to a significant mismatch between the size of large polymer molecules and the micropores of zeolites. This severely constrains diffusion and site accessibility, resulting in low efficiency. Here, we unveil a simple hydrothermal treatment of commercial Y zeolite that creates hierarchical Y zeolite (Y–H), which possesses substantial layers of mesoporous nanoflakes on its surface, constructing a unique pore architecture. This pore network integrates large (ca. 13 nm) and medium (ca. 4 nm) mesopores with the original micropores (