Prospects of Fe/MCM-41 as a Catalyst for Hydrocarbon Synthesis

M. V. CAGNOLI, N. G. GALLEGOS, J. F. BENGOA, A. M. ALVAREZ, M. S. MORENO, A. ROIG, S. G. MARCHETTI, AND R. C. MERCADER

Madrid

Conferencia; Industrial Applications of the Mössbauer Effect; 2004

We report the synthesis of cylindrical nanoparticles of metallic Fe entirely included in MCM-41 pores. Their dimensions are approx.3 nm diameter and approx. 3.8 nm length. We show that a coherent analysis of the results yielded by the various techniques is essential to obtain a catalyst supported on an MCM-41 matrix of » 3 nm average pore diameter, which is active and selective toward olefins. The solids were characterized by low-angle x-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy equipped with a high-angle annular dark-field, CO chemisorption, volumetric oxidation, and Mössbauer spectroscopy (in controlled atmosphere for the reduced catalysts). Catalytic results in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, as well as some unexpected results –like the inhomogeneous pore filling and discontinuous Fe particles– are also discussed.