Co nanoparticles confined in mesopores of MFI zeolite for selective syngas conversion to heavy liquid hydrocarbon fuels

Designing Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) catalysts to selectively produce liquid hydrocarbon fuels is a crucial challenge. Herein, we selectively introduced Co nanoparticles (NPs) into the micropores and mesopores of an ordered mesoporous MFI zeolite (OMMZ) through impregnation, which controlled the carbon number distribution in the FTS products by tuning the position of catalytic active sites in differently sized pores. The Co precursors coordinated by acetate with a size of 9.4 × 4.2 × 2.5 Å and by 2,2‘-bipyridine with a size of 9.5 × 8.7 × 7.9 Å, smaller and larger than the micropores (ca. 5.5 Å) of MFI, made the Co species incorporated in OMMZ's micropores and mesopores, respectively. The carbon number products synthesized with the Co NPs confined in mesopores were larger than that in micropores. The high jet and diesel selectivities of 66.5% and 65.3% were achieved with Co NPs confined in micropores and mesopores of less acidic Na-type OMMZ, respectively. Gasoline and jet selectivities of 76.7% and 70.8% were achieved with Co NPs confined in micropores and mesopores of H-type OMMZ with Brönsted acid sites, respectively. A series of characterizations revealed that the selective production of diesel and jet fuels was due to the C–C cleavage suppressing of heavier hydrocarbons by the Co NPs located in mesopores.