Intrinsic support effects on the catalytic performances during Fischer–Tropsch synthesis over well-defined uniform pore-structure Fe-based catalysts

A series of well-defined and uniform pore-structure (WDUPS) supports with almost identical pore structure, but different surface chemical properties were obtained. Such an approach allows the efficient elimination of the pore structure effect that could not be achieved in the case of conventional supports. Fe was introduced into the as-prepared WDUPS supports by incipient wetness impregnation to obtain WDUPS Fe-based catalysts for investigating the support effects on Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. Based on the reaction results, the Fe 2 O 3 supported on the WDUPS SiO 2 exhibited the highest CO conversion and C 2-4 olefins selectivities. The other three WDUPS catalysts, whose supports were WDUPS Al 2 O 3 , TiO 2 , and ZrO 2 , were a favor to form C 5+ hydrocarbons during Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. The highest C 5+ hydrocarbons selectivity could be obtained over the Fe-based WDUPS catalyst using WDUPS Al 2 O 3 as support. It was proposed that the support effects on the catalytic behaviors obtained in this research work are more reliable than those obtained before by using conventional supports with vague tortuosity and a wide range of pore-size distribution.