Reaction pathways of n-pentane cracking over zeolites have been systematically investigated.
First scission of n-pentane cracking over zeolites mainly took place at CH or C2C3 bond.
HZSM-5 zeolite exhibited the highest selectivity to light olefins compared to HZSM-35 and H-Beta.
Ag-incorporated HZSM-5 can enhance the cleavage of CH bond promoting the selectivity to light olefins.