Identification of reaction intermediates on model Raney Cobalt Fischer-Tropsch Catalysts by Inelastic Neutron Spectroscopy

The Fischer-Tropsch process is the industrial scale production of fuels from the molecules of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. It enables society to make fuels without being reliant on oil. The chemical reactions in Fischer-Tropsch happen on a cobalt surface and involve the breaking of carbon monoxide bonds, followed by the connection of carbon-hydrogen "building blocks" to make longer chain fuel molecules. The chemistry of these building block intermediates in Fischer-Tropsch plays an important role in the efficiency. We will use neutron spectroscopy, which is very sensitive to hydrogen, to see what the exact nature of the building blocks are on a cobalt surface. Through changing the temperature of reaction and introducing different amounts of the reaction molecules, we will see how these building blocks change during reaction. This information can be used to improve future catalysts.