Structural Sensitivity of Carbon Monoxide Hydrogenation by Nano-Structured Iron Catalyst.

A new size dependence kinetic equation for chain growth factor in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) was developed using a thermodynamic analysis method. For evaluation of structural sensitivity of FTS reaction, a series of iron oxide nanoparticles were prepared as a catalyst via precipitation by microemulsion method. The experimental results indicated that the difference between activation energies for propagation and termination reactions (Et-Ep) decreased with decreasing the catalyst particle size. Calculated size dependent model parameters were employed for evaluation of surface tension energy (σ) and size-independent activation energy for chain growth probabilities.