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Research Article | Open Access

High-selective Fischer–Tropsch synthesis to jet fuel over confined iron catalysts inside carbon nanocages

Fujie Gao1, Xinyi Wang1, Ou Zhuo2, Changkai Zhou1, Lijun Yang1, Qiang Wu1, Yining Fan1, Xizhang Wang1 (), Hongwen Huang1 (), Zheng Hu1 ()
Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry of MOE and Jiangsu Provincial Laboratory for Nanotechnology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jishou University, Jishou 416000, China
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Filling K-promoted Fe-based active species into hierarchical carbon nanocages (hCNC) produces jet fuel with a selectivity of 60% in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, exceeding the Anderson–Schulz–Flory maximum of ~ 41%. This excellent performance is due to the CO enrichment inside the nanocavities, which results from the sieving effect of the micropores across the hCNC shells (~ 6 Å).

Abstract

Selective production of specific products, such as jet fuel, in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is a huge challenge due to the Anderson–Schulz–Flory (ASF) distribution law. Herein, by filling K-promoted Fe-based active species, which usually produces medium-to-short chain hydrocarbons in high-temperature FTS, into the hierarchical carbon nanocages (hCNC), jet fuel with high selectivity of 60% is directly obtained in FTS at 300 °C, exceeding the ASF maximum limitation of ca. 41%. Through the theoretical simulations, we attribute this performance to the CO enrichment inside the nanocavities due to the sieving effect of the micropores across the hCNC shells (~ 6 Å) and the increased collision frequency in confined space. These two factors thereby promote the CO conversion and carbon-chain growth longer over the catalytically active Fe5C2 phase, resulting in the remarkable selectivity to jet fuel. The effects of the length and size of micropores on the CO/H2 diffusion and FTS performance are examined, which corroborate the crucial role of micropores in the high-selective FTS to jet fuel. This work not only provides a remarkable catalyst to the selective jet fuel synthesis, but also offers an alternative way to design advanced catalysts for FTS.

Keywords

Fischer–Tropsch synthesisconfined iron catalystsjet fuelAnderson–Schulz–Flory distributionhierarchical carbon nanocages

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Nano Research
Volume 18 Issue 4,
April 2025
Article number: 94907331
DOI: 10.26599/NR.2025.94907331
Cite this article:
Gao F, Wang X, Zhuo O, et al. High-selective Fischer–Tropsch synthesis to jet fuel over confined iron catalysts inside carbon nanocages. Nano Research, 2025, 18(4): 94907331. https://doi.org/10.26599/NR.2025.94907331
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Catalytic performances of the supported and confined catalysts in FTSa

SamplesGHSV(mL·h−1·g−1)CO conversion (%)TOF (s−1)bHydrocarbon distribution (at.% of C)
CH4C2–C4C5–C7C8–C16C16+
K-Fe/hCNC1500570.212432619—
K-Fe@hCNC6000881.18211952< 1
12,000581.56171760—
18,000411.66161662—
24,000301.56161760—
K-Fe@hCNC-13000610.46302144—
K-Fe@hCNC-25000630.731813596
a Reaction conditions: 300 °C, 2 MPa, H2/CO = 1, TOS = 45 h. b TOF: moles of CO converted to hydrocarbons per mole of surface sites per second.
K-Fe@hCNC-a5000570.619291735—