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Nano Research 2023, 16(5): 6270-6277 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-5417-4
Research Article | Issue | Published: 23 February 2023

Size dependence of carbon-encapsulated iron-based nanocatalysts for Fischer–Trposch synthesis

Show Author's Information Xiaoxue Han1,  Jing Lv1,  Shouying Huang1,3( ),  Qiao Zhao1,2,  Yue Wang1,3,  Zhenhua Li1,  Xinbin Ma1,3( )
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Zhejiang Institute of Tianjin University, Ningbo 315201, China
Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, Tianjin 300192, China
Keywords:
size effect, iron-based catalyst, carbon-encapsulation, Fischer–Tropsch synthesis
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Catalysts
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Han X, Lv J, Huang S, et al. Size dependence of carbon-encapsulated iron-based nanocatalysts for Fischer–Trposch synthesis. Nano Research, 2023, 16(5): 6270-6277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-5417-4
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

The conversion from syngas derived from non-petroleum recourses to liquid fuels and chemicals via Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is regarded as an alternative and potential route. Developing catalyst with controllable particle size and clarifying size effect are of significance to promote the process. Herein, we engineered carbon-encapsulation structure to restrict particle growth but avoid strong metal–support interactions. The prepared carbon-encapsulated nanoparticles (Fe@C) showed a superior catalytic activity compared with conventional carbon-supported nanoparticles (Fe/C). By tuning particle size from 3.0 to 9.1 nm, a volcano-like trend of iron time yield (FTY) peaked at 2659 μmol·gFe−1·s−1 is obtained with an optimum particle size of 5.3 nm. According to temperature-programmed reduction and desorption results, a linear relationship between apparent turnover frequency and CO dissociation capacity was established. The enhanced CO dissociative adsorption along with weakened H2 activation on larger nanoparticles resulted in higher C5+ selectivity. This study provides a strategy to synthesize carbon supported metal catalysts with controllable particle size and insight into size effect on Fe-based catalytic FTS.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Size dependence of carbon-encapsulated iron-based nanocatalysts for Fischer–Trposch synthesis

Show Author's information Xiaoxue Han1, Jing Lv1, Shouying Huang1,3( ), Qiao Zhao1,2, Yue Wang1,3, Zhenhua Li1, Xinbin Ma1,3( )
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Zhejiang Institute of Tianjin University, Ningbo 315201, China
Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, Tianjin 300192, China

Abstract

The conversion from syngas derived from non-petroleum recourses to liquid fuels and chemicals via Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is regarded as an alternative and potential route. Developing catalyst with controllable particle size and clarifying size effect are of significance to promote the process. Herein, we engineered carbon-encapsulation structure to restrict particle growth but avoid strong metal–support interactions. The prepared carbon-encapsulated nanoparticles (Fe@C) showed a superior catalytic activity compared with conventional carbon-supported nanoparticles (Fe/C). By tuning particle size from 3.0 to 9.1 nm, a volcano-like trend of iron time yield (FTY) peaked at 2659 μmol·gFe−1·s−1 is obtained with an optimum particle size of 5.3 nm. According to temperature-programmed reduction and desorption results, a linear relationship between apparent turnover frequency and CO dissociation capacity was established. The enhanced CO dissociative adsorption along with weakened H2 activation on larger nanoparticles resulted in higher C5+ selectivity. This study provides a strategy to synthesize carbon supported metal catalysts with controllable particle size and insight into size effect on Fe-based catalytic FTS.

Keywords: size effect, iron-based catalyst, carbon-encapsulation, Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 31 August 2022
Revised: 02 December 2022
Accepted: 18 December 2022
Published: 23 February 2023
Issue date: May 2023

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press 2023

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

Financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U20A20124) and the Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities (No. BP0618007) are gratefully acknowledged. The authors also thank the Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations for financial support.

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