Elementary steps in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis: CO bond scission, CO oxidation and surface carbiding on Co(0001)

C.J. Weststrate (Corresponding author), P. van Helden, J. van de Loosdrecht, J.W. Niemantsverdriet

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    70 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Dissociation of CO on a Co(0001) surface is explored in the context of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis on cobalt catalysts. Experiments show that CO dissociation can occur on defect sites around 330 K, with an estimated barrier between 90 and 104 kJ mol- 1. Despite the ease of CO dissociation on defect sites, extensive carbon deposition onto the cobalt surface up to 0.33 ML requires a combination of high surface temperature and a relatively high CO pressure. Experimental data on the CO oxidation reaction indicate a high reaction barrier for the CO + O reaction, and it is argued that, due to the rather strong Co-O bond, (i) oxygen removal is the rate-limiting step during surface carbidization and (ii) in the context of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, removal of surface oxygen rather than CO bond scission might be limiting the overall reaction rate.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)60-66
    Number of pages7
    JournalSurface Science
    Volume648
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jun 2016

    Keywords

    • CO dissociation
    • Co(0001)
    • Fischer-Tropsch synthesis
    • Oxygen reduction
    • Surface carbiding

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