Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis Performance of Supported Nano-Iron Catalysts Synthesized By a Gas-Expanded Liquid Deposition Technique

Abstract

A gas-expanded-liquid technique (GXL) was applied to the preparation of supported iron catalysts for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS). A mixture of presynthesized iron oxide nanoparticles with an average size of 12 nm was deposited onto a SiO2 support in a manner such that nanoparticles smaller than 5 nm were excluded from the final catalyst product. A series of SiO2-supported iron oxide nanoparticle catalysts were prepared with iron loadings of 11.4, 18.0, 24.0, and 28.8 wt %. Catalysts were characterized by nitrogen adsorption, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, H2 temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), trasmission electron microsopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and carbon monoxide temperature-programmed desorption. TEM analysis showed that iron oxide nanoparticles were well-distributed over the surface of the SiO2 support with an increase in the iron loading resulting in the formation of multilayers and three-dimensional islands of iron oxi...