Role of Active Phase in Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis: Experimental Evidence of CO Activation over Single-Phase Cobalt Catalysts

In order to understand the role of Co catalysts with different phases on Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, single-phase face-centered-cubic (fcc) and hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) Co were synthesized via a two-step approach, involving the formation of single-phase CoO materials followed by reduction in H2. The physicochemical properties of Co catalysts were thoroughly characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, TPR, and H2 chemisorption. It was found that hcp-Co exhibits higher activity on hydrocarbon formation than fcc-Co in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. For both catalysts, CO dissociation was suggested as the rate-determining step, on which hcp-Co presents ca. 40 kJ mol–1 lower activation energy than fcc-Co, in agreement with a reported computational study. As a result, hcp-Co is concluded to be the preferable phase for rational catalyst design.