Carbon-supported Fe catalysts with well-defined active sites for highly selective alcohol production from Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

Alcohols are important chemicals, and are considered as high value-added products from Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS). However, the unknown active sites and their unclear alcohol formation mechanism hinder the development of highly efficient catalysts. Herein, we report the design of low cost and scalable carbon-supported Fe (K-Fe/NC) catalyst with tailorable FTS selectivity via pyrolysis of Prussian Blue. Our K-Fe/NC catalyst exhibits alcohol selectivity as high as 30% containing 95% of C2-C13 fraction. The K-Fe/NC catalyst with a core-shell structure facilitates the investigation of iron structural evolution in FTS. The CO dissociation and association are thoroughly verified through theoretical calculations and the temperature-programmed surface reaction of CO. The synergistic effect between χ–Fe5C2/ε-Fe2C and Fe3O4 dual active sites is proposed for the alcohol formation mechanism. This work provides significant insight into the development of low cost and highly efficient iron-based catalysts for alcohols in FTS.