Genesis of an Fe5C2@Fe3O4 core/shell structure during CO carburization of metallic iron nanoparticles

LW Niu and X Liu and X Zhou and CF Huo and J Xu and XD Wen and JW Niemantsverdriet and Y Yang and YW Li, JOURNAL OF CATALYSIS, 407, 97-103 (2022).

DOI: 10.1016/j.jcat.2022.01.029

High resolution structure models of the spatial distribution of iron carbide cores with decorated oxide species are critical to the understanding and definition of active species for Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis and the water-gas shift reaction. In situ tools such as NAP- XPS and ETEM facilitated a layered uncovering of the dynamic phase transformation of a metallic iron catalyst exposed to carbon monoxide, leading to a time-and space-resolved iron carbide-oxide core-shell model, which can unravel the role of iron carbides in FTS chain growth and of an Fe3O4 overlayer in the water-gas shift reaction, respectively. Such definitive knowledge on Fe5C2@Fe3O4 core-shell structure can potentially boost iron catalyst stability and realize CO2 selectivity mitigation. (c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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