Abstract Thermal aggregations of Co nanoparticles have been known to be the main reason for catalyst deactivations for CO hydrogenation to hydrocarbons. Self-reduction effects of the supported Co nanoparticles on… Click to show full abstract
Abstract Thermal aggregations of Co nanoparticles have been known to be the main reason for catalyst deactivations for CO hydrogenation to hydrocarbons. Self-reduction effects of the supported Co nanoparticles on the ordered mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with the help of functional groups of the reductive g-C3N4 revealed an unprecedented resistance to thermal aggregations of Co nanoparticles. The mesoporous g-C3N4 with abundant nitrogen-containing functional groups facilitated an easy reduction of cobalt oxides without any significant aggregation. By comparing with the mesoporous carbon support (CMK-3), the Co-supported g-C3N4 revealed a higher activity and C5+ selectivity due to the robust preservation of smaller metallic Co nanoparticles with their average sizes of ~2 nm even after the reaction. The nitrogen-containing functional groups of the g-C3N4 accelerated the reduction of Co3O4 to metallic Co as well as prevented its aggregations. The relatively inactive cobalt carbide (Co2C) phases formed on the reference Co-supported CMK-3 were effectively prohibited while using the reductive g-C3N4 support, which seems to be new alternative catalytic system without any aggregation-free reduction treatment.
               
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