Aqueous-phase Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalyzed by cobalt nanoparticles

Converting syngas to hydrocarbons at much lower temperature with high efficiencies, namely aqueous-phase Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, has great potentials. In this article, we synthesized aqueous-stable cobalt nanoparticles for the reaction. The catalyst has an activity of 7.4 × 10−7 molCO gCo−1 s−1 and C5+ selectivity of 40%, which is the best result in cobalt-catalyzed aqueous-phase Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The catalyst is recyclable after reaction. We also characterized the catalyst by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and in-situ infrared observation to study the catalyst reconstruction process and boron contamination.