Mutual Tailored Bimetallic Rh–Co Supported on La Modified SiO2 for Direct Ethanol Synthesis from Syngas

In this work, Rh–Co/La2O3–SiO2 showed excellent selectivity to ethanol for direct ethanol synthesis from syngas. The best catalyst exhibited 42.8% selectivity to ethanol with CO conversion of 12.3% and in 145 h’ running maintained stable at 553 K, 3 MPa and GHSV of 3900 mL (gcat h)−1. The investigate results indicated that the interaction of cobalt denoting electron to rhodium adjusted the amounts of carbon monoxide adsorbed associatively and dissociatively, and maybe created a new active site pair of Rh0/Coδ+ for generating ethanol. Moreover, the mutually doping effect could dilute Co and Rh atoms in Rh–Co nanoparticles (NPs), which effectively suppressed the formation of C2+H and C3+OH, and thus led to the high ethanol selectivity and good anticoking property assisting with the carbon eliminating effect of La2O3. Owing to the high dispersion of Rh–Co NPs, the catalyst showed good activity and high resistance to sintering.