Evidence of a strong metal-support interaction and of Ni$z.sbnd;Si alloy formation in silica-supported nickel catalysts

Elucidating the role(s) of support-like ligands remains a challenge in catalytic reaction like the Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) catalyzed by the iron catalyst supported on silica. We herein theoretically investigated surface modification of Fe5C2 by silica-based ligand and its influence on C2 oxygenate selectivity in FTS, by carrying out DFT calculations on dissociation of CO and formations of CH4 and C2 on ha-SiO2/Fe5C2(510). To mimic the structure of surface modification, the ha-SiO2/Fe5C2(510) model was built up by binding the silica cluster (the ha-SiO2 ligand) to Fe5C2(510). DFT calculations elucidated that the C + CH coupling with the lowest activation barrier among all the possible routes of C2 formation on Fe5C2(510) is suppressed after modification with the ha-SiO2 ligand because the binding ha-SiO2 ligand limits the geometry relaxation caused by the C+CH coupling. However, CO molecule is anchored by the ha-SiO2 ligand via hydrogen bond, suppressing the CO cleavage because the d-valence band center of Fe5C2(510) lowers in energy by surface modification with the ha-SiO2 ligand, but facilitating the C + CO coupling with the lowest activation barrier among all the possible routes of C2 formation. Also, CH4 formation in the ha-SiO2/Fe5C2(510) case is not so easy as that on Fe5C2(510). Therefore, C2 oxygenate is formed more easily in the ha-SiO2/Fe5C2(510) case than in the Fe5C2(510) case. The result agrees with the experimental observation that C2 oxygenate selectivity became high for iron-based FTS catalyst after surface modification of by silica-based ligand.