Effect of Organic Capping Agents on Ruthenium‐Nanoparticle‐Catalyzed Aqueous‐Phase Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis

Abstract The influence of organic capping agents on the performance of Ru nanoparticles in aqueous‐phase Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis was investigated. Three organic capping agents were used: trimethyl(tetradecyl)ammonium bromide (TTAB), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and sodium 3‐mercapto‐1‐propanesulfonate (SMPS). To exclude the effects of particle size, the capping agents were placed onto carbon‐nanofiber‐supported Ru nanoparticles of size 3.4 nm. The activity in the FT reaction increased in the order: Ru‐SMPS≪Ru‐PVP