Effects of metallic cobalt crystal phase on catalytic activity of cobalt catalysts supported on carbon nanotubes in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

The effects of metallic cobalt crystal phase on catalytic activity of cobalt catalysts in the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis were investigated in a continuous spinning basket reactor. The cobalt catalysts were prepared by impregnation of the cobalt active phase in a microemulsion system on multiwall carbon nanotube supports. A series of cobalt catalysts with different Co particle sizes was prepared by variation of the water-to-surfactant molar ratio from 2 to 12 in the microemulsion system. The X-ray diffraction results validate a complex composition of cobalt phases containing cobalt oxides and metallic cobalt with hexagonal close-packed and face-centered cubic phases. The results show that larger cobalt particles exhibit more face-centered cubic and less hexagonal close-packed metallic cobalt. The experimental results show that the catalysts with higher fractions of hexagonal close-packed phase exhibited higher conversion in the Fischer–Tropsch reaction.