(398bk) One-Step Synthesis of Carbon Nanotube-Supported Fischer-Tropsch Catalysts Via Liquid Injection Chemical Vapor Deposition

The production of
clean fuel via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) using carbon nanotube
(CNT)-supported Fe catalyst is demonstrated. Conventional synthesis method for
CNT-supported catalyst requires an additional functionalization step to create
sufficient anchoring sites for deposited catalyst. The functionalization
process involves aggressive acid treatment that impart significant amount of
defects on CNTs and change their overall morphology, as well as degrade their
outstanding material properties. Here, we propose a one-step liquid injection
chemical vapor deposition (CVD) for simultaneous growth of CNTs and deposition
of Fe catalyst on CNT wall. Ferrocene/xylene solution is used as catalyst and
carbon precursors. Temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) results reveal that
reducibility of Fe is higher on CNTs than conventional oxidic supports (SiO₂/Al₂O₃).
The decorated Fe catalysts on CNTs have been evaluated as catalysts in FTS and
the results have been compared to convention Fe catalysts supported on CNTs, Al₂O₃,
and SiO₂ prepared by incipient wetness impregnation.