Issue 28, 2013

In situreduction study of cobalt model Fischer–Tropsch synthesis catalysts

Abstract

Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis is an important process to manufacture hydrocarbons and oxygenated hydrocarbons from mixtures of carbon monoxide and hydrogen (syngas). The catalysis process occurs on, for example, cobalt metal surfaces at elevated temperatures and pressures. A fundamental understanding of the reduction pathway of supported cobalt oxides, and the intermediate species present during the activation, can assist in developing improved industrial supported cobalt catalysts. Hard synchrotron X-rays have the unique ability to probe atomic processes both in terms of phases present as well as the crystallographic and local structure (using the pair distribution function approach) under realistic conditions. In this manuscript we present results from measurements during in situ hydrogen activation of a model Co/alumina catalyst using in situ synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction and pair-distribution function (PDF) analysis on beam line ID31 at the ESRF in Grenoble, France. The PDF analysis showed a substantially improved understanding of the reduction of cobalt oxides, as for the first time all cobalt could be accounted for by using total scattering analysis.

Graphical abstract: In situ reduction study of cobalt model Fischer–Tropsch synthesis catalysts

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
21 Jan 2013
Accepted
10 May 2013
First published
10 Jun 2013

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013,15, 11640-11645

In situ reduction study of cobalt model Fischer–Tropsch synthesis catalysts

H. E. du Plessis, R. P. Forbes, W. Barnard, W. J. Erasmus and A. Steuwer, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, 15, 11640 DOI: 10.1039/C3CP50274K

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